


Harry Potter's Bizarre Adventure: Smooth as Silk

by OmegaKenichi



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon-Typical Violence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Gen, Hogwarts, PoC Harry, Theif Harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2019-10-21 20:39:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 50,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17649491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmegaKenichi/pseuds/OmegaKenichi
Summary: The fate of the blood is not exclusive to the Joestar clan. In another part of the world, there are two more who are fated to fight. And they fight using a power never before seen in the wizarding world. The Power of the Stand!





	1. Meet Harry Potter

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, so this is my first fic posted on AO3. I've been on here a while, but this is the first time I've actually posted something. Usually, I start my fics with 'It's OK, Omega is here!', but I felt I should start with this. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my fic!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, so this is my first fic posted on AO3. I've been on here a while, but this is the first time I've actually posted something. Usually, I start my fics with 'It's OK, Omega is here!', but I felt I should start with this. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my fic!

King's Cross Station, London, United Kingdom, dated September 1, 1991. 

Dozens of people flooded the station, all of them trying to get where they needed to go in a rush. Most didn't pay anyone else any mind, just needed to get from one place to another without causing any trouble. But, not all of them.

One such example existed as a large man with way too much money at his disposal. And so much bling that it suggested that he was compensating for something.

The man screams into his phone as he shoves his way through the throngs of people. People want to say something, but the man is large with both muscle and fat. Neither inspires confidence in one's ability to take him down.

Unfortunately, he decided to run into a young boy pushing a trolley. The boy fell to the ground without making a noise.

"Watch where you're going, kid," the man shouted before returning to his phone call.

The boy didn't get up from his spot on the floor. He stared at the large man's mans back as his body was covered in a green aura.

People at the station would have no way of explaining what happened next.

One moment, the large man was talking on the phone and the next, multiple items on his person disappeared. The phone in his hand, the gold chain around his neck, the rings on his fingers, the wallet in his pocket, the boxers in his pants, and the belt around those pants.

Without the belt to keep them up, the man's pants fell around his ankles to display the source of his compensation.

Some people screamed, some people laughed, the cops were called, it was a very exciting moment for everyone involved.

Away from the commotion, the child was back on his feet. He dusted off his green dress shirt, picked his black hat off the ground and placed it back on his head, and continued walking through the station. 

The boy's body glowed green again as a ghost-like figure appeared over his shoulder.

"Great work as always, old friend," the boy's voice sounded subdued; he kept his eyes forward and acted as though he talked to no one. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an expensive looking watch; priced at around ten thousand Euros. "Of course, I can't let you do all the work, now can I?"

The figure disappeared and the boy placed the stolen watch back in his pocket. 

"Now, where to find platform 9 and 3/4."

He kept himself hidden amidst the crowd. No one had told him where to find the entrance, so he needed to find an opportunity to find it himself. He could have asked for the location himself. But, the boy could never resist a challenge.

It didn't take long for the boy to find his target. 

A small family of three people; a middle-aged mother and father with a daughter around the age of the boy with the wildest brown hair he'd ever seen. Something pulled him towards this family, the girl in particular, like gravity. 

He followed behind the three until they stopped at one of the pillars between platforms nine and ten.

They exchanged some heartfelt goodbyes, a small part of the boy wished he could experience that, but he smothered it.

The girl gave her parents one last hug before she turned around and pushed her trolley through the brick pillar and disappeared.

The boy felt surprised for all of a second before it faded into nothingness. Little girls going through walls was par for the course at that point in his life.

He waited for the parents to leave before following suit.

The boy paused before the pillar, deciding that that moment was as good a time as any to say a few words.

"My life is already a series of bizarre events too strange to explain. What's one more to add to the pile?"

With that said, he pushed his trolley forward and disappeared through the brick.

At that moment, Harry Potter reentered the wizarding world and brought with him a bizarre ability that none of them had ever seen before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed and I will see you all next time, OK is out!


	2. New Accomplices

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's OK, Omega is here! Normally, I'd wait a week before uploading a new chapter, but I've already uploaded this chapter to Fanfic, so I thought it'd only be fair to upload it here too. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Somehow the magical platform turned out to be both more and less chaotic than the non-magical one.

There were far less people, but they were all so bizarre. They had strange pets, not that Harry could talk as a new owner of an owl. They dressed in a strange way, all robes, all the time. Harry wondered if they even understood the concept of fashion. One woman had a vulture carcass attached to her hat; Harry hoped it was a carcass, at least.

Harry's sense of confusion made him lose sight of the frizzy-haired girl he had been following. . . A sentence that sounded much creepier than he intended it to be.

Moving right along, Harry decided to board the train and let his instincts guide him. He kept the brim of his hat pulled down over his eyes. Stupid things were too distinct, he'd almost gotten caught a dozen times because of them. So, Harry learned to not show his face to anyone who he did not want to run away from.

After five minutes of searching Harry found the girl he'd been looking for. Not that the time was wasted, he'd found several entertaining marks in the interval.

The girl from earlier sat in a compartment with a sandy-haired boy as company. She had a book in her hands and a mouth that ran a mile a minute. The blond-haired boy didn't seem capable of keeping up with her. He had this confused look on his face as he nodded along to whatever she talked about.

Harry couldn't blame him, which is why he choose to save him. Or, at least lessen his burden.

Harry knocked on the compartment door. The girl called out to him in a high-pitched voiced and invited him in.

"I hope I'm not bothering you, but I was hoping I could take a seat here." Harry flashed the two of them his best smile. "I'd rather not spend the whole train ride by myself and you both seem the friendly sort."

"Oh, you're not a bother at all," the girl said, flashing Harry her rather large front teeth. "Please, sit. Unless that's a problem for you, Neville?"

"Oh, umm, no it's fine." The boy named Neville had a terrible confidence issue. Harry resolved to help him with that, if he had the time at least.

"Wonderful," Harry said. He grabbed his trunk and placed it in the overhead bin with relative ease.

The instant he sat down, the girl introduced herself, "I'm Hermione Granger, it's a pleasure to meet you."

She placed her hand forward for Harry to shake, he took it, "Pleasure's all mine. Please call me Harry. "

Harry turned towards Neville and held out his hand to the nervous boy, "Feel free to call me Harry too."

"Oh, uh, thanks, I guess." Neville shook Harry's hand. "I'm Neville, Neville Longbottom."

"Once again, it is a pleasure." Harry took the opportunity to find some information. "So, did either of you know anything about this magic business before your letters?"

"No, not at all," Hermione answered in less than a second. "But, I was ever so excited. The moment I'd gotten my books I started to practise some simpler spells; repairing objects, making them float, things like that. I also spent some time reading about the magical world as a whole, but I haven't been able to find much."

"Purebloods don't like to share their secrets." Harry and Hermione turned to the Neville. The poor boy looked like he was the one responsible for that. "I've spent most of my-my life in the wizarding world. It's not always the nicest place."

Before either of them could respond to that, the train started to move. 

Hermione didn't leave either of the boys in silence for long. She started to talk about everything and anything, even if it didn't have to do with Hogwarts and magic specifically. Although, that was a large topic.

Harry guessed that she either hated the sound of silence or she never stopped thinking. He leaned towards the latter, but he wouldn't judge just yet.

The door to their compartment opened to show the trolley lady with a cart full of sweets.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?"

"No, thank you," Hermione said, whilst looking at the sweets like they were poison. Harry filed that away for later reference.

Neville looked like he wanted to ask for something, but he kept his mouth shut regardless.

"I'm fine, thank you," Harry said.

The trolley lady closed the door and left the trio to their own devices once more.

Conversation continued in the compartment without pause. But, when the trolley lady left she didn't close the door all the way, leaving a tiny sliver of space left. Just enough for a certain amphibian to make his sixty-seventh escape attempt.

He had just made it out of the compartment when a ghost-like hand grabbed the toad and placed him in Harry's hand.

"Neville, I think this belongs to you?"

"Trevor!" Neville snatched the toad from Harry's hand and placed him back in his pocket. 

"He was trying to leave, so I grabbed him for you," Harry said.

That statement brought a certain amount of confusion to Neville and Hermione as they hadn't seen Harry move an inch since he'd gotten there.

"We should probably put on our robes, we'll be arriving soon," Hermione said.

Harry looked out the window and saw where he would be staying for the following months. 

"Come on, Neville, we should give Hermione her privacy."

The awkward boy didn't connect the dot for a good few seconds. But, when it did, he turned as red as tomato. Little dude ran out of the compartment like he got set on fire. 

His hasty exit meant that he didn't see the group of three walking near their compartment. He crashed into one of the gorilla-looking ones and fell to the ground in a heap.

"Watch where you're going, Longbottom!" The one who spoke was a young blond boy that stood between the two gorilla-like boys. Harry noted that the blond looked like he fell in a vat of hair gel head first. 

"I'm sorry for my friend here," Harry said as he lifted Neville to his feet.

"You better be, bloody wog," the boy scoffed and motioned for his lackeys to follow him.

Harry knew better than to let the slur get to him. But, out of principle alone, he needed payback. The ghost-like arm formed once again and made three light jabs; one for each of the boys.

"Come on, there's an empty compartment right here," Harry said.

The two of them changed out of their regular clothes and into their robes. Harry wouldn't remove his hat, which Neville found odd. But, he didn't want to risk insulting Harry by asking about it.

Neville didn't notice the three wands that were left behind in the empty compartment when they left.

Hermione, on the other hand, didn't have the proper filter not to ask about Harry's choice of attire. "Are you honestly going to wear that hat during our sorting ceremony?"

"It's a nice hat."

"That's not the point!" 

Harry shrugged and started looking out the window; lots of dark clouds surrounding the castle, he noted. Hermione was left to fume in silence. 

The train came into the station not ten minutes later. Harry assisted his new companions with getting their trunks off the train.

On the platform, Harry spots the man who had introduced him to the wizarding world. The giant of a man that went by the name of Rubeus. Harry knew the large man preferred to go by Hagrid, but Harry thought Rubeus had a nice ring to it.

"Just leave yer things here." Hagrid led them to the shore of the lake surrounding Hogwarts, where a baker's dozen of boats sat. "No more than four to a boat."

Through sheer luck, the three of them got their own boat. Once everyone had boarded, the boats started to move towards the castle.

Halfway to the castle, something rose up from the water.

"What's that?" One of the children in another boat asked Hagrid.

"Oh, that's jus' the giant squid. He's real friendly," he said.

Not a moment after he said that did a tree-sized tentacle smash down next to Harry's boat. 

Hermione screamed and Neville froze like a deer in headlights. Meanwhile, Harry gripped the sides of the boat and said, "That doesn't seem very friendly."

The tentacle wrapped around the back of their boat and pulled them away from the group; singling those three out in particular.

"Something's not right here," Harry said. Despite the dark skies, he could see something surrounding the tentacle; something familiar.

"What are you talking about!?" Hermione said; the poor girl was on her way towards a panic attack.

Neville shook like a leaf in a storm, he tried to get his wood out, but shaking hands didn't do well for his grip and it fell to the bottom of the boat.

Lightning flashed and thunder cracked, illuminating the area for just a moment before rain started to fall. 

When the boat stopped moving, Harry could see it; a faint purple glow covering the beast's various tentacles. The glow didn't come from the squid; there was a string attached to it. And it looked like the other end of that string came from the castle.

"Tch, so that's what it is," Harry said as the moonlight shined over his glasses.

Before either Neville or Hermione could ask him what, in Merlin's name, he was talking about, Harry stood to his feet and addressed the creature.

"I don't appreciate you attacking my friends here," Harry said. "I'm going to give you one chance to leave before you get yourself hurt."

The creature responded with a screech as several of its tentacles rose to the surface to strike. Hermione and Neville stopped breathing, a million thoughts ran through their heads, but the main one was "We are going to die" on loop.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Harry's body emitted an emerald green glow that, to anyone who could see it, acted like a beacon in the night.

Startled by the light, the squid swung down with extreme speed.

" **TOR-RURURURURURURURURURU**!"

Dozens of punches thrown faster than the eye could possibly see; all the tentacles recoiled in pain.

Standing in front of Harry, unseen by everyone but Harry and his foe, appeared a gray figure. Green markings shaped like antlers decorated its body. A pitch-black hat adorned its head.

" **[Smooth Criminal]**!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed that, because this took an hour longer than it should have trying to format those bolded words at the bottom. I also have artwork for all the stands that will be in this story, but I don't know how to put links in these notes.  
> Anyway, I'll talk to you all later, OK is out!


	3. Harry Potter's Smooth Criminal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's OK, Omega is here.  
> I'm going to admit that the fight scene is more early Stardust Crusaders than any of the newer stuff. I'm trying to improve, but I don't really have the knack for trickery that Araki possesses.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

" **TOR-RURURURURURURURURURU**!"

Harry's Smooth Criminal moved like lightning amidst the storm. The second that a tentacle came too close, Smooth Criminal would hit it with a dozen punches. Every time it made contact, a piece of flesh would disappear from the squid's tentacle. Blood would squirt from the open wounds and dirty the water below.

Hermione and Neville couldn't see any of this. In their eyes, they saw their friend try and talk to the squid. And then, they heard him shout something about an old Michael Jackson song.

When the squid attacked, they both thought it was the end of them. But, some invisible force saved them and started to fight the squid.

The two of them almost fell out of the boat when Harry spoke up.

"I need you two to start paddling us back towards the castle."

"Huh?" Any other day, Hermione would have been more articulate, but this was not any other day.

Two suitcases appeared on the boat out of thin air. "Empty those and start using them to paddle us closer to the others."

"I don't know what you're talking about! I can't do that! I don't know what's going on at all. Hogwarts is supposed to be a place where I could feel normal. But, I don't know how to handle this. I can't- I can't-"

"Hermione!" Hearing Harry shout was such a shock that Hermione's jaw shut with an audible click. "I understand you're scared, but I need you to do this. I can't keep this up forever."

Lightning flashed and Hermione gasped. Harry's arms, they were bruised and bleeding, all the way to the wrist and beyond.

"This thing is going to overwhelm me soon enough. And when that happens, we're all going to die. So, usually, I'd be happy to help you calm down. But, for right now, I need you to focu-hrrk!"

Talking with Hermione disrupted his concentration, which gave the squid an opening.

One of its tentacles swung out and slammed into Smooth Criminal's torso. Harry fell to his knees in pain as his Stand disappeared. Globs of blood flew from his mouth and stained the bottom of the boat. 

Hermione didn't need any more convincing. She moved to empty the suitcases but found that Neville had already done that. Neville looked like the living dead, but he still wanted to survive. So, he handed Hermione a case and started paddling.

The boat aided them with it's weak charms, but they still needed to paddle like their lives depending on it. And they did. 

Harry wondered why the squid hadn't attacked when his Stand disappeared.

He stood to his feet and saw that purple glow from before flickering on and off, like a light switch.

The Stand User must be weak, Harry thought. But, why risk attacking me then?

Harry couldn't think on it any longer. The enemy Stand's control came back stronger than ever.

" **[Smooth Criminal]**!"

Harry's Stand appeared anew and ready for combat. As the battle resumed, Harry checked on Neville and Hermione, the castle was still a long ways away.

At this rate, we're not going to make it, he cursed in his head. Harry could feel his strength fading. This was the first time Harry had used Smooth Criminal for actual combat. Adding his new injuries into the mix and Harry was already feeling the effects of battle.

I need to figure out a way to end this and fast, Harry thought. I can't hope to just outlast the user, even if they aren't at full strength. If they outlast me by even a second, then we're all dead.

Inspiration flashed in Harry's mind for a single second.

The string! If I can find where that string connects to the squid, then I can force the user to withdraw. I just need to find it.

Smooth Criminal tossed his user a pair of binoculars. Harry couldn't see a thing in the dark of the night, but looking for a glowing purple string isn't that hard to do.

There! Harry found the connecting point. On the squid's eighth tentacle, hidden beneath the waves. Harry cursed again, it's just outside Smooth Criminal's range. I need to get it to come closer.

Another flash of inspiration hit Harry, which gave him an idea. A stupid and suicidal idea, but an idea nonetheless. 

Harry sent Smooth Criminal to follow his plan. His Stand obeyed the mental command and started to drift to the left. Smooth Criminal kept the squid's attention on him, while he kept moving left. He stopped moving once his back was to the eighth tentacle, seemingly defenseless.

Harry set the trap, now he needed someone to spring it.

Like a moth to a flame, the giant squid struck..

The massive tentacle wrapped itself around Smooth Criminal. Harry could feel his bones starting to crack through his link with his Stand. But, Harry was no stranger to pain.

Harry could see the connection clearly now. A round-headed pin attached to the tentacle's tip. He grinned as blood seeped through his clenched teeth.

"Do it, **[SMOOTH CRIMINAL]**!"

" **TORU**!"

One punch and the pin disappeared, along with the squid's purple aura.

The giant squid released Smooth Criminal and stopped it's assault on the trio's boat. It released a sorrowful wail and sank beneath the waves to heal it's wounds.

Harry admitted to feeling remorse for having to do what he did. The large creature didn't want to attack Harry and his friends. It was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, this was a battle of life and death. Where hesitating, for even a second, got you and everyone around you killed. 

Harry grinned and tried to enjoy the rain on his bruised and bleeding skin, "Good job."

The young Stand User fell onto his back and almost into the water. Once the adrenaline faded, Harry felt beyond exhausted.

"Harry!" Hermione stopped rowing to check on her fallen friend. "You're hurt!"

Harry coughed up more blood and gave Hermione a shaky grin. "Truly, your ability for deductive reasoning is unmatched."

Any other time, Hermione would've retorted. But, Harry was injured, so he got a pass.

"Are-are you alright, Harry?" Neville asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, Neville." Harry dipped his hat down lower, so it covered his eyes. "Not the worst shape I've been in."

Hermione and Neville couldn't even begin to comprehend that. Harry's arms were black and blue and he kept coughing up blood. If that wasn't his worst, they feared to know what was.

While they were looking over him, Harry willed Smooth Criminal to put away the two suitcases and their contents. Harry got lucky when Neville decided to be the one who emptied them. Neville had no idea what the multiple stacks of green bills were and Hermione hadn't noticed.

Slowly but surely, the trio of children arrived at the castle. Hagrid and their fellow first years looked beyond frightened. That fear doubled when Neville helped Harry out of the boat.

"Harry, what happened to ya?" The giant of a man looked seconds away from tears.

"Squid just wanted to play, got a little rough." Harry's attempt at humor received blank stares and slack jaws.

Before anyone could get their wits about them, an older woman in green robes burst into the room.

"For Merlin's sake, Hagrid. What could possibly be taking this long?"

It took her a moment to notice the three children. Another moment to notice that one of them appeared injured; Harry gave her a little wave.

"Dear god, what on Earth happened?" Harry opened his mouth to answer, but the woman changed her mind. "No, it doesn't matter. Explanations can wait, you need to be taken to the hospital wing immediately."

"Alright then, Miss. . ."

"Professor. McGonagall." Despite his apathetic attitude, this woman scared Harry. The professor addressed Hermione and Neville. "Ms. Granger, Mr. Longbottom, rejoin your fellow students. I will escort Mr. Potter to the infirmary."

Harry let out a silent groan and cursed the professor as whispers broke out amongst the first years. He knew it was only a matter of time until his name was revealed. But, he'd wanted his anonymity to last a bit longer. 

He snuck a peek at his companions to gauge their reactions. Neville looked like he'd been struck. The poor boy never suspected a thing. Hermione, on the other hand, looked proud. Like she solved one of Earth's greatest mysteries.

Once he'd recovered from his shock, Neville tried to protest the professor's decision. "But, Professor, he's-"

"It's fine, Neville." Harry separated from the boy and took a shaky step forward. "I can manage by myself for right now."

Neville wanted to argue, but a look from McGonagall sent him running. Hermione joined him after giving Harry one last worried glance.

"Hagrid, bring the children into the great hall and get them sorted. Tell Albus what happened and that we'll have to postpone the sorting until I get back." Hagrid nodded like an eager puppy and started ushering the children into the great hall. "Mr. Potter, follow me."

"As you wish," Harry said. He hobbled after her with an arm held to his broken ribs.

McGonagall noticed his pain and transfigured a walking stick out of a handkerchief. Harry accepted her gift and put it to use.

"So, Professor, how'd you know it was me?"

"I make it a point to remember all my students, Mr. Potter," she said. A bit of melancholy seeped into her voice as she continued her explanation. "Besides, it's going to take more than some silly hat for me not to recognize the child of two of my favorite students."

Harry paused when his parents came up. He didn't think about them much. He never hated them, Harry wasn't stupid enough to believe Vernon's lies. But, he'd never gotten to know them, which meant he had no serious emotional attachment to them.

When he heard they died to save him, Harry had been grateful. But, as they say, you can't miss what you never had.

But here, in the wizarding world, there was a myriad of people who knew Harry's parents. To them, James and Lily died as heroes, saving the world from an evil tyrant.

Maybe... Maybe Harry should get to know about his parents more. It couldn't hurt to ask around, right?

"Mr. Potter, we've arrived."

Harry looked up and noticed that they were at the entrance of a large hall. One that resembled a modern hospital room, built in a castle. Harry cursed himself for zoning out in an unfamiliar environment. Or any environment, for that matter.

"Madame Pomfrey?"

"Is the sorting over already, Min-" An older woman dressed in old nurse's clothes came out of the office at the back of the hall. She froze the moment she saw Harry and the condition he was in. "Already? Not even half a day into the year and I already have a patient. What happened?"

Minerva opened her mouth then realized she'd forgotten to ask that question herself.

"Giant squid thought I was a potential mate and wouldn't take no for an answer." Harry grinned through the pain.

Both of them groaned; McGonagall internalized it, Pomfrey did not. "Oh great, another Potter. Alright, get on the bed."

Harry accepted the order and sat down. Pomfrey waved her wand over Harry's body, muttering incantation under her breath.

After a minute or two of spells, she put her wand away. "Three broken ribs, a punctured lung-"

So, that's why it hurt to breathe. Harry thought he'd imagined it.

"And his arms bear more of a resemblance to blueberries instead of human flesh."

The nurse walked into her office, whilst muttering under her breath. She returned moments later with two potions in hand; one red and one purple.

"I'll have to keep him overnight. He'll have to be sorted tomorrow morning."

Great, Harry thought, more time in the spotlight.

Pomfrey handed Harry the potions, "Drink these, red before the purple. The first will start the healing process and the other will put you to sleep while I work on fixing you fully. It would be wise for you to remove that hat of yours."

"The hat stays," Harry said as he regarded the potions.

Under normal circumstances, Harry would be skeptical of drinking any unknown liquids. But, if there is one thing he's learned over his short life. It's that you don't mess with the person trying to stitch you up.

Harry drank the potions as directed and laid back with his hat covering his eyes. Ten seconds later, he was out like a light.

****

-OK-

****

****  


**Stand: [Smooth Criminal]**

**Stand User: Harry James Potter**

**Namesake: Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm**

**Destructive Power: C**

**Speed: A**

**Range: C(5 Meters)**

**Durability: B**

**Precision: A**

**Developmental Potential: A**

**Steal: [Smooth Criminal's] Stand ability allows him steal anything from a living being. By punching someone, [Smooth Criminal] can steal something from their person. These objects are hidden within it's large sleeves that act as pocket dimensions(objects can be retrieved from the sleeves).**

**Also known as: You've been hit by! You've been struck by!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, whenever a new Stand is introduced, I'll include their stat card at the end of the chapter. And I know Smooth Criminal is originally a Michael Jackson song. But, I prefer Alien Ant Farm's version.  
> I hope you all enjoyed the fight, more to come at a later date.  
> Talk to you all later, OK is out!


	4. Bizarre Explanations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's OK, Omega is here. Sorry I'm a day late, I hope you enjoy!

Harry didn't wake up once that entire night.

Poppy, of course, tried to remove Harry's hat while he slept. She muttered something about "Stubborn Potters" while she reached for it. But, inches away from her target, Madame Pomfrey found herself unable to move her hand.

Smooth Criminal kept a firm grip on her wrist. He only let go when she pulled away from his user. Harry may not be able to issue commands in his sleep, but Smooth Criminal kept watch. He always kept watch.

Harry woke up the next day at seven as he did every day. Potions or not, nothing would hinder Harry's eight hours of sleep.

"Ah, Mister Potter, you're awake." Madame Pomfrey stepped out of her office with wand raised. The charms on Harry's bed alerted her to the status of her patient.

"Good morning," Harry said as he readjusted his hat.  
Pomfrey flinched when she saw him move his hat. Every spell she tried wouldn't even budge that blasted hat. She'd given up after a few minutes as it wasn't a major issue. Otherwise, she would have gotten Minerva to take a crack at it for her.

"Breakfast starts in half an hour. Once I check the status of your recovery, you can change into some fresh robes. A house elf will escort you to to the great hall, where you will undergo your sorting. Do you understand everything I just told you?"

"Yes, I do," Harry said. He felt the slightest bit insulted by the insinuation. But, he understood it was protocol for someone with a potential concussion.

"Good," she said. Pomfrey stopped waving her wand over Harry. "Well, your major injuries have all healed nicely. You'll be sore for a few days, but that's normal."

Harry jumped off the bed and started to stretch. He had to admit, magic was very useful. It would have taken him days to heal those injuries. At Hogwarts, it took an hour combined with a good night's sleep. Harry could get used to this.

After his stretches, Harry grabbed his new blood-free robes and started to put them on. Pomfrey marveled at the way he did it. He managed to change out of his old uniform and put the new one on without disturbing his hat an inch.

"You said something about a house elf?" Harry asked as he tightened his tie.

"Oh, yes, right, Mimsy?"

At her call, a small creature appeared in front of the school nurse. Bat-like ears, large blue eyes, and dressed in nothing but a pillow case. Seeing someone in a state like that brought up some old memories for Harry. Memories that Harry smothered with a pillow and buried in the backyard.

"Mimsy will lead Mister Potter to the great hall," the little thing said.

Harry waved goodbye to Madame Pomfrey as he left with Mimsy. Harry took the opportunity to enjoy the scenery Hogwarts presented. He couldn't yesterday for obvious reasons. There was a lot of paintings, every single one of them moved. Harry counted dozens of suits of armor, all in pristine condition.

Yes, Harry could very much get used to living here.

One final turn left Harry in the company of Professor McGonagall. Mimsy gave the distinguished woman a bow before she popped away.

"Good morning, Professor," he said in greeting.

"Yes, good morning, Mister Potter. Now, when you walk through those doors you will be sorted into one of four houses. . ."

The Professor went into a speech about family and rule-breaking. Harry didn't agree with either notion. Harry chooses who gets to call themselves his family. And if Harry broke any rules, he wasn't going to get caught doing it. He was a professional after all, anything less would be an insult to his reputation.

"Are you ready to enter?"

Harry tipped the brim of his hat over his eyes. "As ready as I can be, Professor."

The large double doors opened and Harry strode in behind the Professor. Their entrance silenced the entire hall. Harry suppressed a cringe when all eyes fell onto him. Being the center of attention was a hell all its own.

Although, another part of him wanted to use it to his advantage. No one could see Smooth Criminal after all. If Harry started stealing things, no one would be able to prove his guilt. And there were a lot of targets within his five-meter radius.

In the end, Harry decided against the decision. Whoever that other Stand User was, they came from the direction of the castle. There was no doubt in Harry's mind that they were in the same room as him. Trying to steal his enemy's coin purse would be an embarrassing way to get caught.

Harry nodded to Hermione and Neville when he spotted them. They were at the table covered in red and gold robes; Gryffindor, if he remembered right. 

About halfway down the hall, the old man in the throne started to speak.

"Ah yes, we have one last minute sorting to do. A student spent the night in the hospital wing after an unfortunate accident on his way to the castle."

McGonagall instructed Harry to wait at the base of the stairs. At the top was a wooden stool with an old, shoddy hat on top of it. McGonagall returned with a large parchment scroll.

"Potter, Harry." Harry could guess that that was his cue to step up.

Whispers broke out from across the hall, once again Harry had to suppress a cringe. Harry sat down onto the stool and let her place the hat on his head.

"Interesting, very interesting." Harry almost jumped out of his seat when a voice started to speak inside his head. "I will admit that this is new for me. This power of yours, the Stand-"

Harry tensed and he almost summoned Smooth Criminal to take care of the voice in his head. But, there were too many witnesses and this voice wasn't exactly hostile.

"Now, now, I'm not going to tell anyone. I couldn't, even if I wanted to," the voice said.

Harry didn't summon Smooth Criminal, but he kept tense, "Who are you?"

"I am the hat on your head, of course! The other one that is, not your little cover there." Harry's teeth clenched, but he didn't make a move. "My job is to sort through all that you are and could be to determine which house suits you best."

"I see, and which one would you like to place me in?"

"Well, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff aren't an option. You are very intelligent, but the pursuit of knowledge is not your goal. And you are loyal, but only to a select few. That just leaves Gryffindor and Slytherin; both would suit you well. You are brave and determined, as much as you are cunning and ambitious. As I said, either would be a good fit for you. I think I will let you decide."

The hat ended his assessment with a throaty chuckle, leaving Harry to decide his fate.

It didn't take long for Harry to decide. Only one of his choices would help him with his goals for the future. Besides, the other one would be too obvious for him to pick.

"Alright, if this is your choice, then it must be-GRYFFINDOR!"

The house of lions roared with approval. Harry's robes adopted their new colors of red and gold. Harry grimaced, green suited him much better. But, he'd made his choice and there was no going back.

Harry took his seat between Hermione and Neville. The old man at the front told the students to enjoy their meal and, in a flash, food decorated every plate.

Harry had never seen so much food in one place before. He hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday, so he was beyond hungry. Plus, a life-or-death fight burns a lot of calories.

"Harry!"

"Yes, Hermione?"

"What happened yesterday?"

"We got attacked by giant calamari, I saved us all, you're welcome by the way, and then you two apparently got to eat a feast. Meanwhile, I was stuck in the hospital healing my broken body. I think that about sums it up."

"That's not what I meant!"

"Hermione, I understand that you want to know what happened, I really do. But, I have had a long night and I am very hungry." Harry said all this while looking Hermione dead in the eye. "So, can this explanation wait until the day is over?"

Hermione looked at war with herself for a few moments. She decided to let it go and accept Harry's request. 

Harry turned to Neville, who hadn't said a word so far. "Do you want an explanation too?"

He jolted like a scared rabbit, "Yeah. . . I mean, if that's not too much of a problem, Harry?"

Harry gave him a gentle pat on the back, "No problem at all."

McGonagall passed out class schedules to all the Gryffindors before breakfast was over. "Mister Potter, as I know you won't have time to fetch your school things, I will allow you share with another student. But, I expect you to be ready come tomorrow."

"Of course, Professor, expect nothing less."

Harry gave the schedule a cursory glance before he returned to his bacon.

At some point during the meal, a greasy-looking Professor approached the Slytherin table. He held three wands in his hand. Snape admonished the owners of said wands for being so forgetful. You could hear Draco's indignant squawks from across the hall.

Harry grinned into his glass of orange juice. Neville noticed, but he said nothing. He had his suspicions, but he wouldn't risk offending Harry. He'd only just gotten friends after all, it would be foolish to risk that.

The trio's first class after breakfast was Potions with the Slytherins. Right off the bat, Harry found Professor Snape to be an odd character. Snape's little opening speech told Harry that his professor had a flair for the dramatic.

The time he spent trying to trip him up didn't help Snape's image in Harry's eyes either. Harry didn't get them all right, but it was better than nothing. Harry still got mocked for not bringing a book, even when it had been made clear it wasn't his fault.

Harry resisted the urge to rob the greasy bat blind using Smooth Criminal. But, he resister the urge. It wouldn't do to cause trouble so early in the year. Any more than he already had anyway.

Now, the next two classes were much more to Harry's liking.

Professor McGonagall's class held Harry's interest for a professional reason. Being able to turn objects into other objects sounded like a valuable skill for any thief. Plus, being able to turn into an animal also sounded useful for getaways.

Flitwick's class held more of a personal interest for Harry. The little tricks and gags the Professor performed for the class were interesting. 

Harry thought he had something when Flitwick demonstrated the sticking charm for them. He thought it would be a nice way of making sure no one took off his hat without his permission.

He gave up on that idea when he found out that using the charm on his hat would stop him from adjusting it at all.

Their final class of the day was Herbology. And it was, by far, Harry's least favorite class.

Professor Sprout presented herself as a kind and friendly woman. But, Harry detested working with plants for several reasons. It brought up a myriad of bad memories. Plus, it's hard to look suave when you're covered in dirt.

They gave them an hour between Herbology and dinner to explore their new home better. Harry knew that now was the best time to give his two accom-friends their explanation.

So, he led them to an empty classroom and got comfortable for the incoming interrogation. Which meant he hopped on top of a desk so he could feel tall.

"Alright then, what do you want to ask?"

"What happened last night?"

"Pretty sure I already told you that, Hermione." Hermione didn't appreciate his snark, not one bit.

"That's not what I meant!"

"You're going to have to start asking the right questions if you want the right answers." Harry said in a sing-song voice.

Hermione fumed while Neville looked thoughtful. After a moment of silence, the shy boy spoke up.

"What's Smooth Criminal?"

Harry clapped his hands together in glee, while the brim of his hat tipped over one of his eyes. "Now, you've got it! You've asked the right question, my friend, so I'm going to give you the right answer. Smooth Criminal is the name of my Stand."

"Your Stand. . ? What's that?"

"A Stand is fighting spirit given a physical form. Only Stand-Users can see them and only other Stands can hurt them."

"So only you can see this Stand of yours?" Hermione sounded skeptical and Neville didn't look very convinced either. "You expect me to believe that?"

"Well, seeing as you're standing here, yelling at me, instead of being fish food at the bottom of the lake. Yes, I do expect you to believe." Hermione's cheeks turned scarlet from the rebuke. "But, I do understand your desire for proof, so I'll give it to you. Do me a favor and hold out your wand for me, will you?"

Hermione looked confused but she followed the order regardless. She held her wand out at arm's length and waited.

"[Smooth Criminal]."

The Stand answered his master's call and emerged behind his user. With the order given, Smooth Criminal shot off and tapped his fist against Hermione's hand.

In the span of a second, Hermione no longer had her wand and Harry was admiring it's craftsmanship. "I like the vines on the handle, Hermione, very classy."

Hermione looked down in shock at her empty hand, "How did you-?"

"As I said before, my Stand is Smooth Criminal and it has ability to Steal anything from anyone!"

Neville had an epiphany, "Like with Draco and his friends on that train!"

"Bingo," Harry shot Neville a finger-gun.

"So you're a thief then?" Hermione asked; a bit too self righteous for Harry's tastes.

"I am what I am," Harry said as he opened his arms wide. "I take things from people I don't like. Sometimes I get rid of what I take, other times I keep it. Just keep in mind that this thief saved your life yesterday and the only thing I'm asking of you is to keep this a secret."

"Was what attacked us a Stand?" Neville asked.

"Yes, but I don't know who the User is," Harry cursed. "It could be anyone. The only information I have is that it's ability has something to do with how it was controlling the giant squid."

"How do you get one of these Stand things anyway?" Hermione, shaken from the shock of Harry's retort, asked.

Harry got very quiet, very fast. "I can't speak for everyone, but I got mine after a. . . near-death experience. When it happened, instead of trying to run or accept my fate, I decided to fight. Smooth Criminal appeared and saved my life. And that is all I am comfortable saying at the moment."

Too many bad memories were resurfacing in Harry's mind. He needed to leave as soon as possible.

Harry hopped off his perch and walked to the door.

"I'm going to dinner," was all he said before he left. Leaving Hermione and Neville to absorb what they'd been told.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll say it now that there will be no Stand Arrows in this fic. Pretty much everyone will develop Stands the way that Kakyoin or Tonio did through sheer mental strength and determination.  
> I thought about including the Arrow, but then I realized that would make this story tie into the canon JoJo's timeline, which I didn't really want to do(not until the main story is over, anyway).  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I will talk to you all later, OK is out!


	5. Bizarre Moments

Harry's next confrontation came about when he met his dorm mates. His dorm mates, the people he'd be spending the next seven years with. And they had managed to piss him off on day one.

Harry entered the room with Neville on his heels after dinner. His three other roommates were in the middle of a conversation when they'd arrived. The ginger one approached Harry with a smile.

"Hi, name's Ron Weasley." The boy pointed to the other two. "That there's Seamus and Dean."

They each gave Harry a small greeting. Harry decided to respond in kind, "Harry, pleasure to meet you all."

"Yeah, mate, we know who you are." Ron was getting a bit too familiar for Harry's liking. "You're Harry Potter, aren't you?"

"That is a correct statement, yes."

"Can we see it?" Seamus asked. His eyes appeared glued to Harry's forehead.

"See what?" Harry feigned ignorance, hoping they would notice his tone and drop the subject. They did not.

"The scar," Ron said.

"No," Harry said. The word came out in a monotone, but the more socially-sensitive would notice the venom.

"Come on, mate, just a peek?"

"Oh, well in that case, no." Dean and Seamus realized the scar was a touchy subject; Ron did not.

Harry turned around, hoping that that was the end of it. The moment he did, Ron reached out and tried to snatch the hat off Harry's head. The second Ron's fingertips touched the brim, Harry had his wrist in a vice grip.

"Listen closely, because I will only tell this once." Harry's emerald eyes took on a more menacing hue. "Don't. Touch. My. Hat. Try and I will break every bone in your body, got it?"

Neville, Dean, and Seamus gave immediate answers. None of them wanted to see if Harry would follow through with his threat. Ron followed suit when Harry's grip on his wrist increased.

"Good," Harry let go of Ron's wrist. "Follow that rule and we're all going to get along just fine."

The four of them all wondered if they were going survive the next seven years. They tried not to think about and got ready for bed.

**

-OK-

**

A few days pasted and Harry started to adapt to his surroundings. Under normal circumstances Harry would have assimilated himself by his second day. But, the fame he had in the magical world made things difficult. Plus, magical people are bizarre in general. It took Harry a while to figure out how they think.

But, he did find out something rather useful. That Hermione and Neville would be perfect accomplices for any of his future plans. Although, they did need some molding, lumps of clay that they were.

Hermione learned fast, every lesson seemed like child's play to her mind. She made plans like some people made sandwiches. But, her people skills were found lacking. Pushed in the right direction, Hermione could make the perfect mastermind.

Neville found his use through his selective knowledge. His skills in Herbology were above all others, plants seemed to speak to him in a way that people didn't. Which is where his flaw came in, his lack of confidence. People scared him for reasons that were unknown to Harry. Not that he would ask unless prompted. Harry could relate to bad experiences and an unwillingness to talk about them.

Both of his accomplices lacked people skills and self-worth. Things that Harry had in spades. It would take time, but Harry could mold them both into something great.  
Harry spent many years without anyone to depend on. No kindness, no warmth, no companionship, just self-hatred and despair. But, all that changed when Smooth Criminal came to his aid.

Harry could relate to the struggles his friends were going through. He had the ability to help them overcome their anxieties. So, that's what he was going to do.

Even if he had to drag himself through hell to do it.

**

-OK-

**

The trio were in the great hall, eating breakfast before classes. Harry noticed that something seemed off about Hermione. She hadn't touched her breakfast, save for a piece of toast. He also noticed she hadn't turned the page of her book in ten minutes.

"Something wrong, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Oh, it's nothing really," Hermione said. She tried to hide her frown with the large book in her hands.

"You're ten years too early to try and hide something from me, Hermione." She flinched when Harry said that. "Now, what's wrong? If someone stole something from you, I can guarantee that it wasn't me."

"No, no, it's nothing like that." Hermione sighed and closed her book. "I guess I'm just a bit homesick. My birthday is today and usually I spend it with my family. But, I obviously can't while I'm here and they don't have an owl that they can message me with."

Harry wasn't one for birthday celebrations. Years of watching his cousin celebrate in his stead soured the experience for him. But, he could see that Hermione didn't share his thoughts on the matter.

"You should've said something," Harry said, tipping his hat over his eyes. "I can have Annie send a message for you, if you'd like."

"Annie?"

Harry let out a sharp whistle in response. Not a minute later, a white shape shot into the great hall. A snow-white owl landed on Harry's outstretched arm.

"This is Annie," Harry said. He scratched at the plumage on her chest, then fed her a piece of bacon. "She can take a message, if you want her to."

Harry made Hermione's day with that offer. "Thank you, Harry. I'll take you up on your offer."

"No problem, just tell me when and I'll call for her." Harry put his arm down and let Annie fly away. "And I suppose, I should give you a present as well."

"Oh no, you don't have to-"

"I insist," Harry said, ending the protest with two words.

Harry stared at Hermione, looking her up and down. Hermione felt very uncomfortable and let out a breath when Harry looked away. He placed one of his hands below the table and called for Smooth Criminal. When he felt something press into his hand, he pulled out from under the table and tossed the object to Hermione.

She almost dropped the object in her breakfast before she got her hands around it. "Is this-?"

"I think it'll look good on you," Harry said.

In Hermione's hands was a periwinkle-blue hat; a baker boy hat, to be specific. She smiled and placed the hat on her head; she found it to be a perfect fit.

"Thank you, Harry," she said. It was the first present she received from someone who wasn't family and that meant the world to her.

Neville felt a little out of place, sitting beside the two of them while that happened. That is, until Harry turned and asked when his birthday was.

"It- It was a few months ago, actually, end of July," he said.

Harry didn't say anything, but one of his eyebrows did rise higher than the other. He dropped whatever question was building in his head and stared at Neville like he did Hermione. 

Neville felt uncomfortable under Harry's stare, more than Hermione had. He froze like a frog in the eyes of a snake. Neville almost deflated in relief when Harry turned away. He placed his hand beneath the table and called Smooth Criminal forth once more.

Harry handed Neville his gift, instead of tossing it, for rather obvious reasons. Neville accepted it and gave it a once over with fervent eyes.

A newsboy cap, light-grey in color. Neville placed it on his head with hesitant and shaky hands. As if, at any moment, Harry would decide to take it back from him.

"Thanks, Harry," Neville said.

"Don't mention it, either of you," Harry said. He returned to his breakfast, trying to smother the blush that built up from the combined praise.

**

-OK-

**

The prospect of flying on a broom intrigued Harry. At the exact same time, it frightened him quite a bit.

Hermione seemed to share that opinion with him and Neville. . . Well, Neville was frightened by a lot of things.

In retrospect, the idea of flying sounded amazing. Nothing sounded more freeing, more exciting, than to fly through skies like a bird. But, the cynic in him mentioned that a broomstick was hardly the safest thing in the world.

Learning how to fly a helicopter or a plane, sure, but a broomstick? No matter how amazing magic has been so far, an enchanted piece of wood and straw set off a lot of warning bells.

They had the class with the Slytherins, the house Harry almost went to. He almost regretted his decision when he saw their green robes. They looked so much better than the maroon robes he wore now.

Their instructor, Madame Hooch, was a woman Harry knew to respect and fear. Hogwarts seemed to have those in spades.

She told the gathered students to stand by a broom and then command it into their hands. Neville and Hermione struggled to accomplish that task. Neville's broom didn't even more, while Hermione's flopped around like an angry fish.

Harry's command of "UP" had an immediate effect. The broom leapt into Harry's hand like a eager kitten. Despite his earlier complaints, the broom felt right in his hand.

The problems started when Hooch told them to mount their brooms.

Harry rose a foot off the ground and got lost in the feeling of it. Flight, no matter how high off the ground, felt amazing. Which is why he didn't react in time when Neville shot past him like a rocket.

Harry leapt off the broom and started to follow Neville's screaming adventure. Poor boy could barely hang on to his broom as it shook him around like a wild bull.

Hooch shouted at Neville to stop what he was doing. Like it wasn't clear that Neville couldn't control the broom in any capacity.

Hermione turned to him with a scared look in her eyes.

"Can't you grab him?" She asked.

"My range is only five meters." Harry's eyes never left Neville. He needed to see if there was a single moment where he could save Neville.

Harry cursed in his head. He wanted to help, but there were too many risks involved.

For one, the chances of there being any Stand-users around was small, but it was a chance he couldn't take. Plus, Smooth Criminal couldn't do much regardless. Like he told Hermione, Neville was well out of the reach of his Stand.

Harry considered trying to reach Neville on a broom of his own. But, Harry hadn't tested his new found skill and it could result in the both of them getting injured. Too many risks, too many chances to fail.

And then, it happened. Neville's broom slammed into one of the castle's walls and Neville's grip failed. The young Gryffindor fell off the broom and started falling towards the ground.

Harry felt his legs start to move of their own accord, Hermione joined him. Neville hit several obstacles on his way down, which probably saved his life. He hit the ground with a thud and a loud crack.

"Crap, his wrist is broken." Harry said as he reached Neville's crying form.

"How can you tell?" Hermione asked as she tried to take deep breaths.

"I've had more than a few." Harry gripped Neville's forearm tight, keeping the bone immobile was important. Otherwise, it could get even worse.

Hooch pushed Harry away from Neville, in order to check on him. She made the same diagnosis that Harry did. Madame Hooch cast immobilization and levitation charms on the fallen Gryffindor.

"I will escort Mr. Longbottom to the infirmary. Meanwhile, I want you all to keep your feet on the ground. If I find out any of your were flying while I was gone, you'll have detention faster then you can say Quidditch." With that, she rushed out of the courtyard. Neville's frozen form followed behind her.

Harry sighed and grabbed Neville's hat from the ground. He stuffed it into the pocket of his robes and turned to Hermione. "Come on, we should check on him. I think class is pretty much over after all that."

"Did you see his face?" Draco's snide voice cut through the air and stopped Harry in his tracks. "Maybe if he'd have given this a squeeze, he would've remembered to fall on his fat arse instead."

Harry sighed again when he saw what Draco had in his hand. A rememberal, the remeberal that Neville received from his grandmother that morning.

Harry loathed direct confrontation, but no one stole from his friends. Except Harry, that is. Besides, Neville would blame himself for losing his grandmother's gift. Harry's heart wasn't so black that he'd let that happen.

"Draco, be a dear, and give me the trinket." Harry talked to Draco as though he were a small child. . . Well, a smaller child than he already was.

"Why should I, Potter?" Draco sneered at him. Harry rolled his eyes at the attempted intimidation.

"Well, I guess I can't force you," Harry said with a shrug. "Come on, Hermione. Let's go see Neville."

Harry walked past Draco, brushing shoulders with him for just a moment. Hermione gawked at him before taking off behind him.

Once they were out of the courtyard, Hermione rounded on Harry.

"Are you honestly going to let Draco get away with that?"

"Oh Hermione, I thought you knew me better than that." Harry pulled his hand out of his robes and showed off the shiny rememberall in his hand. 

"Wait, how did- Did you use Smooth Criminal?"

"Not this time," Harry said.

"Then how-"

Harry leaned in close and whispered in Hermione's ear with a smirk. "Never forget that I am a master thief, with or without my Stand."

Hermione was at a loss of words. . . For all of five seconds. Then, her face turned beet red with anger and indignation. Harry smirked and started to walk down the hall in the direction of the infirmary.

"We really should get to the infirmary before dinner," he said. "You can chew me out on the way, if you'd like."

**

-OK-

**

Back at the courtyard, the Gryffindors started to walk to their next class. While the Slytherins laughed about Longbottom's failure and Potter's lack of a spine.

"What are you going to do with it?" Crabbe asked.

"Don't know," Draco said. His haughty smirk grew three sizes that day. "I'll keep it as a memento of Longbottom falling on his- On his. . ."

Draco searched his pockets and found them empty, save for his wand. The rememberall had vanished into thin air. Draco tried to think of a reason for how it disappeared. He came onto a single answer: Potter.

"Is something wrong, Draco?" Goyle asked.

"No, everything is fine," Draco said through clenched teeth.

That bastard Potter is going to pay for this! How dare he make a fool of me, this kind of insult will not go unheeded!

As Draco ranted inside his mind, a menacing air started to emanate from his body.

I'll make him pay! The menacing air merged with the blue glow that pulsed around Draco's body. A ghost-like figure emerged behind him as Draco shouted inside his mind.

I will make him pay with the power of my Stand!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope some of you get the joke behind Hedwig's new name. I just couldn't help myself!  
> Anyway, next time will feature the epic battle between Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter!  
> See ya then!


	6. Draco Malfoy's S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W

Pomfrey had Neville patched up well before dinnertime. It didn't surprise Harry. She fixed his wounds in a single night, so a broken wrist would be child's play.

Neville thanked Harry once he found out what had happened. He was so grateful that he forgot his shyness for a moment and hugged Harry.

The thief in question didn't handle physical contact very well. But he didn't protest the hug itself. Hermione found the whole situation rather humorous if her smothered giggles were any sign.

Once Pomfrey gave Neville his clean bill of health, the trio set off for the great hall.

As they were walking, Harry felt something grab his leg as he tried to take a step. His first thought as he started to fall was to protect his hat. Because of that, he didn't brace himself and hit the floor with a thud.

Harry's arms ached but his hat was still safe on his head, so it was worth it.

Hermione and Neville tried to help him up, their faces strife with worry. As Harry rose to his feet, the sound of snickering filled the air.

"What's wrong, Potter, can't keep your feet on the ground?" Draco stepped up with his two bodyguards at his side as they always were. "Then again, maybe you just like the taste of dirt. It'd make sense, considering your choice of friends."

Neither Harry nor Hermione understood the insult, but Neville did. Seeing as the normally shy boy looked close to throwing fists, Harry could wager that it wasn't good.

Harry straightened his hat and turned to face Malfoy.

"I thought you were more the one to be eating dirt, Draco. Or is it crow? All I know is that both times you've tried to torment me and my friends, you came out looking like a fool."

Harry cut quite the menacing figure as he spoke to Draco. One hand dipped the brim of his hat over his eyes and the other wrapped around his own waist.

Malfoy scowled, "So it was you."

"Maybe," Harry said. "What would you do if I did?"

"That kind of disrespect cannot go unpunished." Malfoy reached into his robes and pulled out a pristine white glove. He threw the glove at Harry's feet. "Harry Potter, I challenge you to a wizard's duel!"

"Is that so?" The corner of Harry's mouth quirked up in an amused smirk. Despite, Neville's frantic head-shaking, he picked up the glove. "Let's I agree to this, where would it take place?"

"This hallways seems like an ideal location." Covered wall to wall in paintings, landscapes and portraits. It also sat near the moving staircases. One wrong move and someone would fall to their death.

"And I wouldn't refuse if I were you, Potter. You picked up the glove which means you have accepted my challenge. Backing out now would place a black mark upon your name for centuries to come. Plus, as this is a Wizard's duel, backing out would mean losing your magic."

Harry's heart stopped; not good, not good at all. He started cursing himself out for being so stupid.

Harry didn't know what losing his magic would mean for his Stand, for Smooth Criminal. There was a chance that Malfoy was bluffing, but he couldn't risk it. Harry would lose everything if he lost Smooth Criminal.

Harry's voice came out colder than it did before, "What time?"

"Tonight, at midnight," Draco said with a smirk.

"Fine, but you better show up, Malfoy." Harry's hat tipped up so he could glare at Draco. "Or I'll show you what happens when you go back on your word."

"Tch, don't lecture me, Potter." Draco sneered and spun around with a flourish; Crabbe and Goyle followed suit.

Hermione waited until the Slytherin trio left before she started berating Harry. "How could you do something so reckless?"

Harry wanted to argue with her, but she was right. People like Malfoy always brought up bad memories and it always made him lose his cool.

Harry sighed, "You're right, that was stupid, I apologize."

She froze as she didn't expect him to agree. After a moment, the surprise faded and she nodded to accept his apology.

"Neville, is it true? That if I don't show up, I'll lose my magic?"

"I mean, if it's an actual wizard's duel then yes. But, I don't know if Malfoy's challenge is binding. I'm sorry, I don't know anymore. . ."

"It's fine, Neville." Harry sighed, "My only option is to meet his challenge head-on."

"Harry, we can't go out after dark, you'll get caught," Hermione said.

"I know how to hide if things get dicey. I can't risk calling Malfoy's bluff and losing my magic. Besides, he's been pushing buttons since day one. I think it's time he pays for it."

Neville's heart thundered like a rabbit in a storm. There was something that Harry needed to know, but he could get involved in the duel if he said anything. . .

No, Neville was a Gryffindor for a reason, he needed to say it.

"You-You're allowed to bring a second if you need it!" Neville felt much better, getting that off his chest.

"I appreciate the gesture, Neville, but I can't risk bringing either of you along. I have had years to practice being stealthy and going unnoticed; you two haven't. I can't risk it."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Harry," Hermione said, worry evident in her tone.

"Heh, I've been asking myself that same question for the last four years."

**

-OK-

**

Harry left his bed ten minutes before midnight. All his roommates were asleep except for Neville. Neville and Hermione met him in the common room to wish him luck. 

"Are you sure you can't take at least one of us with you?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'll be fine, Hermione, trust me." She did, but that didn't mean she couldn't worry.

"Be careful, Harry. Draco is a first year, but I'm sure his dad's taught him some spells." Neville's warning did not go unheeded.

"I should be fine, as long as I can close the distance fast enough." Five meters was a lot of wiggle room, but one wrong move and it was game over.

The two of them wished him luck again before Harry left the tower.

Harry noticed that Hogwart's security was very lax, all things considered. The only person who patrolled for students was Mr. Filch and his cat. While they were very good at their job, it was still only the two of them. Harry avoided them with ease.

When Harry got to the hallway, Draco was already there waiting.

"Nice to see that this wasn't just some trick to get me in trouble, Draco." Harry wandered into the center of the hallway, making sure that Draco was five meters away. "So, how are we going to do this? Ten paces and draw? Or do you have a ring girl stashed away somewhere?"

"I'm afraid that won't be necessary." Draco's eyes sparked something in Harry. He knew what eyes like that meant. He saw them every time he looked in a mirror after all. "Because I've already won."

Before Harry could react, several arms appeared out of nowhere and grabbed him. The arms dragged Harry and slammed him up against a painting. It was at that moment that Harry realized that the arms were coming out of the painting itself.

It was a portrait of several witches and wizards sitting at a table, or it was. Now, they were all staring out at Harry with thousand-yard stares. 

"What you don't know, Potter is that I have developed an ability that only those of the purest blood can unlock." Harry's heart stopped as Draco's body glowed with a purple light. "The ability that I speak of is my Stand, **[S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W]**!"

Malfoy's Stand appeared behind him. Harry couldn't even begin to comprehend it's appearance.

The closest thing he could compare it to was a patchwork. A patchwork where all the patches were all different paintings. Each one sewn together with ugly black stitches. Some of these stitches were coming undone and a purple miasma could be seen underneath. Its singular eye stared without blinking as it's clawed hands twitched violently. 

Harry forced himself to focus on Draco, who hadn't noticed his staring. Draco didn't know Harry possessed a Stand of his own, which gave him an advantage.

"I wish you could bear witness to the brilliance that is my Stand." Draco's smile was filled with venom. "But, I will tell you what's going to happen to you. . ."

Harry's eyes narrowed, that look on Draco's face, it pissed him off. It took every ounce of his control to avoid sending Smooth Criminal to cave Draco's face in. Not that it would reach, when the paintings grabbed him Draco went from being five meters away to six.

"Every magical painting and portrait is connected. There is a world that connects all of them, I call it the Picture World. My Stand controls this world and everything inside it. I can make the paintings do whatever I want. I can make them tell me things, make them tell other people things, whatever I wish. I can also remove things from the picture world, as long as part of it stays connected. And, beyond that, I can place objects inside the picture world and leave them there."

Harry's heart stopped again; Draco saw and snickered.

"You understand the severity of your situation, don't you, Potter? I think I'll leave you inside for a week to start. To make you understand that you're actions have consequences. And then, maybe, I'll allow you to leave. It depends on how much you beg me!"

Harry grit his teeth, he needed to find a way out of this mess. He could try to make Smooth Criminal set him free. But, if he didn't do it fast enough then Draco would suck him into the painting and it would be game over.

"Then again, once I free you, there's nothing to stop you from just going to the headmaster. Maybe I should make sure that you won't tell anyone anything before I put you inside."

The way S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W's claws shined in the dark sent Harry's brain into overdrive. They say that it's when your back is against the wall that you fight the hardest. That exact reason is why Harry came to a realization moments before Draco sent out his Stand.

"Teach him a lesson, **[S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W]**!"

Harry held in a breath and then released it. His beating heart slowed and he could feel his mind starting to become clearer. Draco's Stand approached ever closer, he just needed to wait. Wait until the right moment. . .

S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W's arm raised, claws flashed in what little light was there.

"Now! **[Smooth Criminal]**!"

" **TORU**!" Smooth Criminal appeared and slammed his fist against the wall. The green glow crept along the wall and enveloped the painting and then, it vanished. Harry dropped to the ground safely as Smooth Criminal spun around. " **TORU**!"

The patchwork Stand went flying back the same way Draco himself did. Draco's nose looked broken, unlike his Stand, who didn't have a nose.

"H-how-" Blood gushed from Draco's nose and spilled onto his robes. "I don't understand! Why do you have-"

"You're not the only one with a Stand, Draco. I don't know where you heard that pureblood crap, but it's complete and total bullshit!"

Draco looked like his entire world was falling to pieces around him.

"I guess I do have to thank you though." Harry wandered down the hall at a relaxed pace as Malfoy sat on the ground, frozen. "See, my Stand's ability lets me steal things. I always thought I could only steal from people. But, it turns out, I have no such limit."

As Harry walked closer, Draco snapped out of his daze and stood to his feet. Harry could see the rage boiling in those silver eyes.

" **[S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W]**!"

Draco's Stand disappeared from view by leaping into a nearby painting. Harry and his Stand tracked it's movements as it moved from painting to painting.

It attacked from above, diving down at them with a sword clutched in its left hand.

"What the- **[Smooth Criminal]** , take it!"

Smooth Criminal obeyed his master's order; one punch to the wrist and the sword in S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W's hand disappeared. But, it retaliated by slashing at Smooth Criminal's forearm. Four claw marks appeared on Stand and Stand User alike. 

As Harry hissed in pain, S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W jumped into another painting.

Harry sent Smooth Criminal after all the remaining paintings. The walls were almost barren after Smooth Criminal's assault; only one painting remained. 

Draco's frightened scowl told Harry that he wasn't in complete control of his Stand. S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W lunged out from the painting, this time with an ax in hand.

Smooth Criminal sidestepped the ax and punched S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W in the stomach. Draco fell to his knees as he struggled to fill his lungs with air. S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W retreated to its master's side. 

Harry made Smooth Criminal steal the last painting as he started to move closer to Draco. As Harry was naught but five feet away, Draco tried to jump ship.

" **[S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W]** , take me into the painting!"

Draco's Stand reached for the closest painting, but Harry's Stand moved faster. One punch and S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W's claws were scraping against the stone wall instead of painted tapestry.

"Come on now, Draco, where's all that pride from earlier, huh?" Harry's left eye stared at Draco from beneath the brim of his hat. "Didn't you say something about making me pay?"

Draco screamed as his Stand leapt forward, claws swinging like a cornered animal. Smooth Criminal caught Draco's Stand by its wrists and then threw it back to its User.

"I think it's time that you took some punishment, Draco." Smooth Criminal lifted the Slytherin into the air by his collar.

"No- Wait, please!"

"Let's see you grit those teeth!"  
" **TORU**! **TORU-RURURURURURURURURURURURURURURURURURURURURURURURURU**! **TORU**!"

Bloodied and bruised, Draco went flying out of view. As the adrenaline faded, Harry realized he'd just sent Malfoy off the edge of the stairs. 

"Shit!" Harry ran to the edge and saw Draco, mid-fall.

Through the haze of pain, Harry could see the fear in Draco's eyes. The fear that came with knowing you were about to die.

Without thinking, Harry sent out Smooth Criminal. The Stand grabbed Draco's arm in the nick of time and threw him back to Harry before disappearing.

Harry kept a firm grip on the back of Draco's robes to make sure he wouldn't fall again. Once the shock faded, Draco looked to Harry with wide eyes.

"You. . . Saved me?"

"Malfoy, mate, you're an annoying prat but you're not worth killing." Albeit a bit blunt, Harry felt he got his point across.

Draco just turned back around and stared into the void of staircases he almost fell into. Too tired to make any more conversation, Harry joined him.

Two boys, barely over the age of eleven, fought against each other with no holds barred. Now, they sat side by side as companions, if not friends.

**

-OK-

**

**Stand Name: [S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W]**

**Stand User: Draco Malfoy**

**Namesake: S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W by My Chemical Romance**

**Destructive Power: C**

**Speed: B**

**Range: A(30 Meters)**

**Durability: C**

**Precision: A**

**Developmental Potential: C**

**Picture World: [S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W's] Stand ability gives it complete control over anything that is drawn. It can bring them to life, force them to do it's bidding, and it can shove people and objects inside the picture world. It should be noted that things taken out from the picture world must remain in contact with the Picture World or with S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W itself.**

**Also Known As: Artist Nightmare Fuel**

**Also Known As: One Eye Blind**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this Stand battle is an improvement over the last one. And there are two things that I want to mention about S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W(really regretting that name by the way, it is a bitch to type). The first is that one of the places where the stitches are loose and you can see the purple miasma is over it's heart and you can see a red glow emanating from within. The second is that one of the patches on it's waste displays in big gold letters 'LUCKY LAND'. And if you don't get that, then you need to educate yourself.  
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed and I will see you all next time, OK is out!


	7. Aftermath and Foreshadowing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's OK, Omega is here!  
> So, since this is a running gag amidst the JoJo's fandom, I decided to add it to my story. English Localized names for Stands because of Copyright!  
> Smooth Criminal = Slick Thief  
> S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W = S/C/A/R/E/B/I/R/D  
> You're all welcome. . . Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

As much as Harry would have liked spending more time sitting at the edge of the stairs, he couldn't. He and Draco needed some form of medical attention before they collapsed. Plus, it was no longer just the two of them.

"Mraoow~!"

The junior Stand-Users turned and stared into the yellow eyes of a mangy brown cat.

"Is that. . ?"

"Filch's cat? Yes, I believe it is," Harry said. The sound of clomping footsteps echoed through the halls; growing louder as time went on. "We should probably leave now."

Draco cursed as he looked around. "Do you still have those paintings?"

"Of course," Smooth Criminal appeared in a flash of green. He left over two dozen paintings lying against the corridor wall.

Harry trust that, after what happened earlier, that Draco wouldn't leave him behind. And, if he did, Harry would make sure his life turned into a living hell.

His mental threats were unnecessary as Draco grabbed his wrist. His Stand appeared next to them, " **[S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W]** , into the painting!"

By the time Filch arrived, the hall was empty. Which left Hogwart's Caretaker questioning the reliability of his pet cat.

S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W had jumped into the first painting in the stack. A portrait depicting an empty field outside a forest. The change in scenery left Harry feeling a little shaky; Draco didn't even flinch. 

"Come on, Gryffindor Tower is this way." He started walking to the right.

"How do you know that?"

"I know where every single painting in this castle is. It was the first thing I did after I got sorted. The location of each painting affects where I have to move in here."

As he said that, the scenery changed again. From the grassy meadow to a small dining hall. The change in footing almost made Harry trip.

"Guess you would know," Harry said. He took in his surroundings with a keen eye. Every painting held it's own world. You felt inclined to realize that when you were inside one.

"How did you end up with a Stand anyway, Potter?" Draco asked, blunt yet curious.

"I'll tell you if you tell me first," Harry smirked as he dipped his hat.

Draco's expression twisted into a sneer, then it dropped. He breathed a sigh of resignation. "When I was younger, I spent a large amount of time in my father's study. There was a book there, written by some ancient wizard. It described Stands and all that they could do, the powers that they held. It was a ridiculous book. The author kept contradicting himself and forgetting himself every other chapter. Because of that, I thought it was just a storybook. But, imagine my surprise when, after. . . an incident, I gained a Stand of my own."

Harry could wager a guess about what Draco meant by 'incident'. He recognized that tone in his voice and the way he flinched. But, Harry wasn't about to invade Draco's privacy like that.

"I didn't know a single thing about magic for years. Then, Smooth Criminal showed up and my life changed for the better."

Draco's face twisted with surprise and disbelief.

"My uncle was the cause of my own 'incident'. Smooth Criminal saved my life when no one else would. I actually thought he was my guardian angel for a while." Harry snorted as he remembered that old memory.

"If you didn't know about magic. Then, how did you know about Stands?"

Harry debated on telling him and shrugged. "Well, there was this old man that I-"

Harry cut himself off as the scenery changed again. This time to a more familiar sight, a large woman dressed in white. The 'Fat Lady' did a double take when she saw Harry and Draco.

"What are students doing out so late? Wait a minute, how are you even here? This is-"

"Silence," Draco commanded.

Her eyes glazed over as her mouth clamped shut. Draco's control over the world of paintings was absolute.

"Once we leave, you will forget ever seeing the two of us this night. Do I make myself clear?" The Fat Lady nodded her head. Draco turned back to Harry. "I'll let you out here."

"Are you going to be alright?" Harry gestured to Draco's various bruises. His breathing sounded labored for the past few minutes.

Draco growled, "I don't need you to look out for me, Potter."

"Hey, you're an accomplice now, Draco." Harry grinned from under the brim of his hat. "There is honor amongst thieves you know?"

"Tch, whatever." Draco paused for a moment before looking at Harry's clawed arm. "What about you then?"

Harry gave the wound a once-over. "It's pretty shallow. I got some bandages and medicine, I'll be fine."

Draco nodded and paused again. Harry tensed and prepared to summon Smooth Criminal. In the low chance that Draco tried to leave him in the painting as he planned to earlier. He relaxed once Draco started talking.

"You realize, Potter, that this doesn't mean we can be all buddy-buddy, right?"

"Of course," Harry smirked.

"But, I suppose, if you're ever in trouble in the future. I can offer you my assistance, should you need it." Draco wouldn't meet Harry's eyes as he offered Harry a handshake.

"Sounds like a deal, Draco." Harry shook Draco's hand, the grin never leaving his face.

Draco nodded and summoned his Stand again. " **[S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W]** , outside the painting."

Another flash of vertigo left Harry standing outside the Fat Lady's painting. The entrance was already open, so Harry wandered in without a care in the world.

Hermione and Neville were still there, looking worried. They almost tackled Harry when he walked in the room.

"Harry! How did it go?"

"Are you alright, Harry?"

"Did Malfoy show up?"

Harry didn't like being crowded; he pressed a finger to his lips. Hermione and Neville took the hint and backed off.

He took a seat on an armchair and rolled the sleeve of his robe up. Hermione gasped when she saw the four long slashes.

"What happened?" Neville asked.

"Malfoy's got a Stand of his own," Harry said. Smooth Criminal retrieved bandages and ointment from his sleeves. "Can one of you help me put this on?"

Neville rushed over and took both the bandages and the ointment. Harry only needed help with the ointment, but he wasn't going to complain.

"What do you mean Malfoy had a Stand?" Hermione's frantic whisper-shouting filled the room.

"Exactly what it sounds like, Hermione. Draco has a Stand like my Smooth Criminal. He almost got the drop on me. We fought, I kicked his teeth in, and now we've come to an understanding." Harry never even flinched during the process of Neville patching him up. "Something along the lines of we don't mess with him, he doesn't mess with us."

"All done," Neville said. He tugged on the wrappings one more time to make sure they were tight.

"Thanks, Neville."

"Was it the same Stand from the boat?" Hermione asked.

"No, abilities are too different. Which means that we have more than one Stand-User in the castle. Not that I expected anything less."

"What should we do now?"

"Well, I am going to get some sleep. I suggest you lot do the same. We can talk more tomorrow."

Hermione and Neville couldn't argue with that. With a long sleep in mind, the trio dispersed to their respective dorms.

**

-OK-

**

Malfoy missed classes the next day because he was in the hospital wing. Harry smirked when he heard about Draco's excuse. Draco claimed that he fell down the stairs on his way to breakfast. The time after their fight was far better when considering the young Slytherin.

He still acted like a major prat to most everyone, including his own house. But, there was something sharper about it. Less snide and boasting, more cunning and regal. Plus, he never went after Harry or his accomplices. They never spoke, but on occasion, Draco would give him a small nod.

In other news, Harry's fame as The-Boy-Who-Lived started to fade somewhat. He kept up a façade of being ordinary. He kept to his small group of friends. But, he was friendly with most everyone(the ones who didn't piss him off anyway). His grades stayed in the middle of the class, much to Hermione's disappointment.

They still hadn't figured out the identity of the mystery Stand-User. But, everything still felt fine. That is, until the thirty-first of October.

The day started without much issue if you ignored Harry's general uneasiness. He hated Halloween with a passion. Bad things always happened to him on that day. . .

The trio sped through their morning classes with ease. Draco and Snape kept to themselves during potions nowadays. Unless they actually messed up, Snape didn't bother to berate them.

He learned his lesson after a few weeks of his stuff getting stolen with no clear culprit. The professor was a bitter and angry man, but he understood cause and effect.

The problems came during Charms class after lunch.

There was only one person who could do the levitation charm, Hermione. She picked it up faster than anyone else as usual. Harry was right behind her, but he didn't broadcast it. Neville struggled while his wand kept shooting sparks during his attempts.

Ron Weasley and several others struggled with the charm. Hermione, with her desperate need for the approval of her peers, tried helping them. Though, she failed to go about it in the right way. 

"You're doing it wrong. It's Levi-OH-sa, not Levio-SAH!"

Ron glared at Hermione until she turned away. His anger grew once she'd been right. The charm worked fine once he corrected his pronunciation. He made his complaints clear after class.

"She's such an annoying, little know-it-all! Levi-OH-sa, not Levio-SAH. And she's always clinging to Harry and Neville like a leech. I bet they're only friends with her because she does their homework."

That last statement wasn't true in the slightest. Harry did all his assignments by himself without help. Neville asked for help on occasion, but nothing more.

But, Ron's words brought up some bad memories for the junior witch. Memories of schoolchildren who would do that exactly that. It happened more often than she wanted to admit. Yet, she always fell for it. Every. Single. Time.

For a single, terrible moment, Hermione let herself believe they were like all the rest.

Before either of them could react, Hermione ran. she pushed past Ron and his friends with tears running down her face.

Harry scowled, then turned to Neville. "Go after her, I'll catch up in a second."

Neville didn't need to be told twice. He took after Hermione as Harry forced himself into Ron's path.

"Harry, mate, we just talking about you. Hey, you wanna play some Exploding Snap? The boys and I were about to start up a game."

Ron's smile looked fake and his offer sounded forced. Truth be told, Ron felt terrified of Harry ever since they first met. Getting on his good side sounded like the best option. Of course, that was no longer an option after what Ron said about Hermione. . . Not that it was an option, to begin with.

"I don't know why you said that about Hermione. I don't know what sad, pathetic, jealous part of your mind thought that was a good idea. But, right now, I can't bring myself to care."

From under the brim of his hat, Harry leveled a menacing glare at Ron. The boy in question felt his knees start to shake.

"I take care of my own, Ronald. So consider this a lesson and learn from your mistake."

Harry spun around, the ends of his robe flapping like a cape. Harry's body exploded with a rippling green glow. No one saw it, nor did they see what happened next.

" **[Smooth Criminal]** , take it all."

" **TORU**! **TOR-RURURURU**!"

The punches weren't very strong, Harry wasn't angry enough to kill Ron. But, each hit did succeed in taking an item off of Ron's person. By the end of Smooth Criminal's punch rush, Ron was left without a stitch of clothing to wear.

Ron didn't even realize what had happened until people started pointing. And laughing.

He didn't know how to react, so he panicked and just stood there. His hands covering his privates. Dean and Seamus left long before then. They were smart enough to realize that Ron messed up big time.

Any other time, Harry would have stayed to watch his punishment play out. But, he had a friend to find. . . and console, he realized. Not something he knew how to do, but an attempt would be made.

Tracking his two friends was easier than expected. Hermione's cries and sniffles echoed in the large corridors. So did Neville's panicked mumbling.

The sound of a door shutting cut off the previous noises. Harry picked up the pace after that. After one last turn, Harry spotted Neville standing outside the girl's bathroom.

"What happened?"

Neville flinched, "I tried talking to her. But, she was really upset and wouldn't listen to me. And she runs faster than I do. . ."

Harry gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Nothing more you could have done."

Harry stepped in front of Neville and pressed his ear to the door. He could hear the faint sound of crying; he stepped away with a sigh.

"I think Hermione needs some alone time for now. Nothing we can do about it. Just have to wait for her to come to us."

"What do we do now then?" Neville looked and sounded worried.

"For now, let's just get finish our assignments for the day. Hermione will be pretty mad if we didn't do our work because of her."

"Yeah, you're right."

"We'll try and catch her in the common room before curfew. If she doesn't just show up for supper."

The two boys walked off to find someplace to study in peace. Unaware that, in another part of the castle, a dark wizard was plotting.

"You escaped my Stand once before, Harry Potter. . ."

The ground shook as the key component of his plan lumbered into the castle. A black aura surrounded him; he waved his hand and the beast stopped. The air of menace increased tenfold.

"It will not happen again!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, I'm not sure if any of you caught this yet but Smooth Criminal's Stand Cry 'Toru'? That's the Japanese word for 'Take'. I found it while doing research for this story and it just lended itself so well to a Stand Cry that I just had to use it.


	8. Hermione Granger's Disco Panic

The Halloween Feast was more annoying than enjoyable. At least, that was the case for Harry. Ignoring the fact that none of his favorite foods were there. The added matter of an extended dessert annoyed him.

Candy and sweets as far as the eye could see. Harry didn't have a lot of love for dessert foods and the like. They reminded him too much of his cousin's piggishness. Plus, they were all so sticky. Harry hated getting sticky fingers.

"Neville, your fly is down."

"Wha- Oh, thanks. . ." Neville blushed and fixed his wardrobe problem.

Harry leaned back on the bench, staring at all his peers along the table. To his dismay, Ron seemed to have recovered from his earlier punishment. He ate like he'd been starved for twelve years. Harry prayed to whatever god was out there that dinner would end soon. . .

"Troll, in the dungeon! Troll in the dungeons!" Professor Quirrel burst into the great hall. The mad man stopped in the middle of the hall and said one last thing before he collapsed. "Thought you oughta know. . ."

Not what Harry had been expecting, but he'd take it.

The great hall erupted into a symphony of screams. Multiple children scrambled out of their seats in an attempt to flee. Harry needed to watch himself. Else someone were to trample him, or worse, knock his hat off.

Harry saw a flash of movement and watched Dumbledore press a wand to his throat. Harry covered his ears at the last possible moment.

"SILENCE!"

The Headmaster's shout made the windows rattle from its volume. But, it did quiet the children down. At the same time, it probably shattered some eardrums.

"Everyone will please, not panic. Now, Prefects, lead your house back to the dormitories. Teachers will follow me to the dungeons."

They were already moving before Dumbledore even finished talking. The prefects gathered them up like sheep and herded them out of the great hall. Harry remembered that both the Slytherin and Hufflepuff dorms were in the dungeons.

Harry found Draco's eye in the crowd; he nodded at Harry. If the troll was still in the dungeons, Draco and his Stand would take care of it. But, that still left one issue on the table. One that Harry had forgotten about until that moment.

"Hermione!"

"What do you- Oh. . . Oh no!" The look of sheer terror on Neville's face made his feelings clear. Harry cursed, he couldn't believe he'd forgotten about her.

"Come on, we need to find her before it's too late." Harry and Neville separated from their fellow Gryffindors. With everyone still in a panic, two first-years sneaking away was a breeze.

As they turned a corner, Neville grabbed Harry's sleeve and spun him around. "Harry, are you sure you can do this? This is a troll we're talking about!"

"I don't plan on fighting a troll, Neville; I know my limits." Harry's eyes never left Neville's; the intensity of his gaze almost made Neville turn away. "Besides, if we get there in time, we'll just need to grab Hermione and run. Nothing more, nothing less."

At the same time, the sound of a loud crash rumbled through the halls. Followed by a young girl's scream.

Harry cursed at himself for challenging Murphy as he and Neville started to run.

**

-OK-

**

Hermione felt awful, to say the least. Her throat hurt, her eyes stung from crying all afternoon, and there was a burning sensation in her stomach from hunger.

She realized hours ago that she'd overreacted to Ron's taunts. Hermione wanted to apologize, to both Harry and Neville. But, her shame made it hard to move from the toilet stall. She resolved to talk to the boys as soon as she left the bathroom.

Her stomach rumbled for the seventh time that evening, like the thunder of Thor.

. . . Maybe she would get some food first. If she hadn't missed dinner altogether.

Hermione left the toilet stall, wiping away a few stray tears with the sleeve of her robe. Before she could leave, the entrance exploded, sending debris flying everywhere.

She froze, as the dust settled, she stood face-to-face with a troll. But, there was something odd about it, something that frightened her. She'd read about trolls, they were supposed to be very simple creatures. But, this one, this one stared at her with a semblance of intelligence.

Hermione backed into her stall and shut the door. She could feel the air whoosh over her head as the sound of shattering wood met her ears. The young witch couldn't hold the scream that escaped her throat.

The troll roared and hefted its large club to crush Hermione like a bug. She screamed again, eyes shut tight, and then-

" **[Smooth Criminal]**!"

The troll recoiled as an invisible force struck its face. Hermione looked up, Harry and Neville had come to rescue her!

Harry found Hermione's eyes and tried to smile. But then, he turned to the troll and the blood drained from his face.

"Neville, grab Hermione and get out of here!"

"Harry!" Hermione felt her blood run cold. He didn't expect to fight a twelve-foot tall troll, did he?

"What are you talking about? We all need to run!" Neville tried being the voice of reason. But, with his shaky knees and even shakier voice, he came off more like the voice of fear.

"This isn't an ordinary troll. . ." Sweat dripped off Harry's brow. His gaze wouldn't leave the troll as it continued to fight against its invisible opponent.

Hermione understood, and from what she could see, Neville did too. It was just like the boat. Harry needed to fight something Hermione couldn't even see. She couldn't do anything. She felt worthless. . .

"Hermione, try to get over here," Neville whisper-shouted to her from across the room. "Go along the wall, under the sinks."

Hermione jumped, but she did as she was told. Crawling on her hands and knees to escape. She froze when she felt the troll's gaze fall onto her.

A giant, meaty fist swung out and tried to smash her. It missed by inches, but the sinks and part of the wall exploded to create even more debris. Hermione managed to shield her face, but she could still feel bruises and cuts starting to form.

"Hermione!" Neville tried to rush to her aid. But, a falling piece of ceramic smacked into his forehead and left him unconscious.

Harry's concern for his friends led to his downfall. In the second that he took to check on Neville, the troll's club slammed into the air. Harry cried out in pain as he clutched at his side.

Harry let out a dark chuckle as blood seeped from his mouth. "Why is it always my right? That's just not fair. . ."

The troll didn't care for fair. It raised its club and started to swing down.

At that moment, something seemed to snap inside Hermione Granger. Her friends were hurt, one was in serious danger. She couldn't just sit there and watch. She needed to do something, anything!

Hermione forced herself to stand. Her soul burned with determination and. . . she could see it. The black glow surrounding the troll's body. The figure floating above Harry's head. Silver with green markings shaped like antlers and that black hat tipped over one eye.

The club inched closer, everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. Her heart was beating so fast. She moved on impulse, her nails dug into her palms as she screamed-

"Leave him alone!"

A flash of purple and gold shot through the air and slammed into the troll's club. Instead of hitting Harry, it slammed into the ground next to him.

Both Harry and the troll paused and looked to Hermione. Harry, in particular, went wide-eyed while the troll growled

"Hermione, you-!" He wasn't looking at her, he was looking over her shoulder.

"What are you looking at-" Hermione turned around gasped.

Standing, no floating, behind Hermione was a woman. With skin made of sections of pink and purple. Her body was decorated with two thick yellow lines that started at her feet and crisscrossed up her body, ending with an X over her face.

Hermione noticed her hands; purple skin with gold fingernails. Hands wrapped around two softball-sized orbs. Dark purple with a single golden letter emblazoned on their surface; D for the left and P for the right.

"Is this- Is this my Stand?" Hermione held her hand up to the apparition. She gasped once her fingers touched warm flesh.

"Yes, it is! Geek out later, just make it do something fast!" Harry scrambled away from the troll. The beast was winding up for its next attack.

"Oh right, umm. . ." Hermione pointed at the troll and tried to look intimidating. "Attack the troll! . . . Please?"

Hermione's Stand pulled her arm back like the pitcher in a baseball game. With a flick of the wrist, one of its violet orbs shot at the troll.

The troll smacked it away without any sort of problem.  
Hermione's heart stopped and she felt the fear creep back into her soul. But then, the orb bounced off one of the bathroom walls and went flying back.

The troll growled and smacked it away again with even more force. The orb bounced off the wall again. This time, Hermione noticed, the wall cracked.

The troll was through playing games. With it's offhand, it tried to catch the incoming projectile. When it made contact, a loud crack echoed through the bathroom, like the sound of a tree trunk snapping in half. The troll's hand fell limp and the orb continued to fly.

As the troll cradled it's wrist and howled in pain, the orb smashed into another wall. The cracks resembled a spider's web. Hermione realized, with a strike of fear, what her Stand could do.

Harry realized it too, "Quick! Bring it back before it brings the whole bloody castle down!"

"I don't know how," Hermione screamed back.

"Just tell it to!" Harry wanted to be more gentle with the awakening of Hermione's Stand. But, they were in the middle of a life-or-death situation; gentle would have to wait.

Hermione turned to her Stand, "Please, bring it back."

The Stand nodded and held out her empty palm. Hermione noticed the black hole that rested in the middle of her palm. Hermione could hear the air being sucked into the opening until the orb smacked in her Stand's palm.

With the orb gone, the troll had no reason not to attack them. Once it stopped nursing it's shattered wrist, it would resume its assault. Harry thought of a plan as fast as he could and relayed it to Hermione.

"This thing doesn't have a pin as the squid did. Smooth Criminal's checked all over this thing, it's not there. If we want to stop it, we need to kill it." Hermione gulped but she forced herself to stand strong. "And your the only one of us who can."

"Wait, what?"

"Smooth Criminal doesn't have enough power to kill this thing. Its skull is too thick for me to get at its brain, same goes for its heart." Hermione didn't look convinced. So, Harry tried to smile and ignore his broken ribs. "You'll do fine, Hermione. Your way smarter than I am, so I'm sure you'll think of something in no time. Trust me when I say that I trust you."

Hermione smiled for the first time that afternoon. The troll roared, ruining the moment for all those involved. Harry summoned Smooth Criminal and started to move towards the troll.

"I'll keep it busy," he said. "Just do something and do it fast. Oh, and don't forget to name your Stand."

The battle picked up where it left off with Smooth Criminal and the troll trading blows. Hermione couldn't see it before, for obvious reasons, but Harry's Stand was fast. So fast. Faster than anything she'd ever seen before.

She forced herself to look away. Spectacular or not, Hermione was given a job and she needed to get it done. She surveyed the entire room, trying to find the most efficient way to end the fight. It's when her gaze drifts to one place in particular that a plan starts to form.

Hermione scans the room anew, looking at the walls and debris. All the while muttering to herself, "They don't arc like regular projectiles. Which means I need to calculate using straight lines and right angles. I need to make they hit the maximum amount of ricochets, which means. . ."

Hermione started to run to the unconscious form of Neville. His dead weight was almost too much for her. But, you didn't spend most of your childhood carrying books without developing some sort of muscle.

"Harry, hallway, now!"

Without losing his focus, Harry started to back up into the hall. Hermione showed up on his heels. As she was leaving the room, Hermione summoned her Stand.

Harry mentioned giving her Stand a name. But, the truth was, her Stand already had a name. That's what those two letters meant; D and P, they stood for-

"Do it now, **[DISCO PANIC]**!"

Hermione's Stand appeared in a flash of blue energy. The moment she appeared, Disco Panic threw the orbs in her hands. They ricocheted off the ground, off the walls, off each other. Until, finally, they slammed into the ceiling.

The stone roof shattered, raining debris down onto the troll. But, not before the orbs ricocheted straight down. One ripped off the troll's arm at the shoulder. The other caved in its skull like a tin can.

The troll was dead before the roof even caved in. The debris just helped seal the deal. Hermione recalled the orbs and fell to her knees. Her breath was coming out in short huffs, the room was starting to sway.

Harry sat down next to her, with an arm held around his broken ribs. He took one look at her and smirked.

"You're probably right knackered, aren't ya?" She looked at him and nodded. Too tired to do much of anything else. "Trust me, it's normal. I slept for like, three days when I awakened to Smooth Criminal. I'll explain everything to the teachers. Get some rest, Hermione, you did good."

Rest sounded like a really good idea, Hermione thought. She decided to place her trust in Harry and let her eyelids drop and drop. Until she fell against Harry's shoulder and slipped into dreamland.

**

-OK-

**

It didn't take too long for the teachers to show up. Longer than Harry liked since his ribs ached and it hurt to breathe. But, hey, better late than never, right?

"Mister Potter!" Professor McGonagall was the first one at the scene. The other faculty members were quick to follow.

"Oh hey, Professor, nice to see you here," Harry said.

"What happened here?"

"Well, Hermione wasn't at the great hall, so she didn't know about the troll. Neville and I went to find her, but I guess the troll found her first."

"Why did you not ask one of the prefects for assistance?" McGonagall scolded Harry.

"We didn't actually expect to find the troll! It was supposed to be in the dungeons. We were just going to grab her and then go back to the dormitory, but instead, we got big, green and ugly." Harry smirked and then he started to chuckle. "Guess we got pretty lucky though. The troll tried to hit us with its club and hit the ceiling instead."

"Potter, wipe that smirk off your face!" Snape, ever the hard-ass, snapped. "Do you think any of this is amusing?"

"No, Professor, I'm just trying to ignore the pain from my broken ribs." Harry coughed up some more blood for dramatic effect.

Professor Sprout gasped and turned to the headmaster. "We need to get these children to the infirmary immediately!"

"Yes, of course, but first-" Harry glared at the old man. He had internal bleeding what exactly was so important? "One hundred points to Gryffindor for helping a friend in need."

Harry stared at the headmaster, wondering if the old man had all of his eggs in one basket. Or if there was even a basket, to begin with. He decided to drop the subject because of the pain in his side. Flitwick levitated the three of them and made towards the infirmary. Harry decided to join his friends in their state of unconsciousness.

**

-OK-

**

"Hmm, curious. . ."

"What's curious, Headmaster?" Snape asked.

After the trio of Gryffindors went to Madame Pomfrey. The rest of the faculty went about clearing the debris and fixing the castle.

As the troll was unveiled, Dumbledore noticed more than a few things. The first involved the troll's injuries. To be specific, the ones on its shoulder and head. They were both perfect circles, too clean to be caused by random debris.

On top of that, Dumbledore could see the remnants of some sort of energy. His enchanted spectacles allowed him to see most things that others could not. There was a small amount of blue energy surrounding the troll's circular injuries. But, the entire body was covered in a sinister, black aura.

Realizing he hadn't answered the question, Dumbledore smiled. "Oh, it's nothing, Severus. Only the ramblings on an old man, nothing more."

Snape rolled his eyes and started collecting ingredients from the corpse. While the headmaster returned to his musings; very curious indeed.

**

-OK-

**

**Stand Name: Disco Panic**

**Stand User: Hermione Granger**

**Namesake: Panic! At the Disco**

**Destructive Power: D**

**Speed: B**

**Range: D(3 Meters)**

**Durability: C**

**Precision: A**

**Developmental Potential: C**

**Ricochet: The Orbs in Disco Panic's hands are indestructible. When throw, whenever they ricochet off something their speed and power will increase. Disco Panic can recall the orbs, but they will lose all of the speed and power gained from previous ricochets.**

**Also Known As: Straight as a White Guy in Khakis**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really need to stop doing the AKA thing, it was funny when Beacon is Unbreakable was doing it. But, I have no talent for puns, so it really just comes off as cringy.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I will see you all next time, OK is out!


	9. Quidditch Field Blues

"Do we really have to go?"

"Come on, Hermione, we need to show some house spirit!" Neville's love for quidditch drove him to speak louder than ever before.

Hermione side-eyed Harry, who tried to appear innocent, "And what about you? I know you like this silly game about as much as I do."

"What Neville said. Need to show some house spirit, rah rah!" Hermione's deadpan glare wouldn't yield. Harry cracked when she started to glow blue. "Usually when people focus on the game, they don't pay attention to their pockets."

Hermione huffed, "That's what I thought."

The trio continued walking toward the pitch, with an annoyed Hermione in tow. They rounded a corner and almost ran into one of their professors, Professor Quirrelll.

"Ah, M-mister Poster. . . And friends." Harry didn't like Quirrell. Whenever they met, Harry's forehead would tingle in an uncomfortable sort of way. It itched in a way he couldn't scratch. "Are you t-t-three headed off to the p-pitch?"

"Yes, professor," Harry said, unblinking.

"R-right then, off you go." Professor Quirrell turned around and started to walk away. Harry narrowed his eyes at the retreating figure.

"Don't react to what I'm about to do," Harry whispered to his friends.

"What are you-"

"Excuse me, Professor?" Quirrell turned around just in time to get a face full of Smooth Criminal.

" **Tor-RU**!"

One punch sent at high speeds towards the Professor's face. Hermione was moments away from summoning her own Stand. But, the attack stopped millimeters from hitting Quirrell's face. He didn't even blink, let alone flinch.

"W-was there something else you n-needed, Potter?"

Harry's expression did not betray his true feelings. "Ah, sorry, Professor, seems I've completely forgotten my question."

"That's q-quite alright," he gave a shaky smile and then walked out of sight.

Hermione rounded on Harry the instant Quirrell left. "What was that about? You could have killed him!"

"I know my limits, Hermione, relax. He would've been fine, even if I had hit him." Hermione wasn't pleased with that answer, not one bit. If she didn't receive an explanation soon, then Disco Panic would cause some actual panic. "I was trying to see if he was a Stand-User."

"Why?" Neville asked, "He's even jumpier than I am. And you said that Stand-Users need fighting spirit."

"I did say that, but. . . Something about him puts me on edge. I can't explain it." Harry grimaced as he watched the Professor walk away. He shook his head and turned back to his friends. "I guess it doesn't matter, looks like I was wrong. Come on, we should get to the field before we miss the tip-off. Or whatever you people call it."

First Quidditch match of the year pitted Gryffindor against Slytherin. Setting off the season with a centuries-old rivalry. Like starting an argument by pulling the pin on a grenade. Bets were being made left and right. Harry heard that the Weasley twins were acting as bookies. 

Harry didn't expect to pick many pockets that afternoon. Most students didn't usually keep coin purses on them during these kinds of things. So, he made a bet of his own.  
Ten galleons that Gryffindor would lose. . . Against Draco Malfoy. The latter of which bet that Slytherin would lose. How Harry managed to convince Draco to take that bet remains a mystery.

But, with that amount of money on the line(Draco's monthly allowance), Draco would be a fool to say no. Those high-stakes almost had the Slytherin wearing red and gold for the day.

As the game went on, Harry found himself becoming more and more entranced. The way they were moving took a considerable amount of skill. You didn't have to be a sports fan to appreciate that.

Harry enjoyed watching, until the point where the Slytherin Beaters started glowing black. Hermione lit up with her own blue glow. Harry placed a hand on her arm to calm her.

"Not yet," he said.

"But, here? Now?" Hermione scowled, "What does this person plan to do?"

"I don't know, but for now find the source." Both of them surveyed the area, looking for the origin of that black glow. 

"Over there! Where the teachers are," Hermione pointed towards the stands. Abandoning discretion due to their frantic situation.

The glow definitely originated from that point. But, it was impossible to tell who it belonged to. It was too far away to see any facial features. Plus, the black glow helped keep the Stand-Users body a mystery.

"What should we do?"

"I-" Before Harry could get a word out, one of the possessed beaters struck. A bludger went flying towards the stands, Harry in particular.

Smooth Criminal appeared and punched the bludger. It soared back into the field until one of the beaters smashed it back. After that, the second bludger also went flying. Lee Jordan's voice echoed amidst the chaos.

"What's this? The two beaters on the Slytherin team have gone mental! They're hitting bludgers at the bleachers instead of the field!"

Madame Hooch called for a timeout as Harry's Stand smacked away another projectile. Despite the flight instructors fierce warnings, the beaters continued slamming bludgers at Harry. Much of the other students fled the scene, while the trio stayed behind.

"Go over there and end this. Knock the place down for all I care!"

Hermione nodded and started to leave. Neville stayed behind to act as a human shield if needed. Harry would never resort to such tactics, but he appreciated the thought.

What none of them noticed was the stray pair of eyes and ears that overheard them. The same pair that started following Hermione into the underbelly of the bleachers.

**

-OK-

**

Hermione ran through the stands. Weaving through beams and random junk stored away forgotten.

"Oi, Granger!" She almost tripped upon hearing her name called. After righting herself, Hermione saw Ron Weasley standing some feet away from her. "What are you doing down here?"

"I was, uh. . . Just leaving, actually! I think I got lost." Lying, never a strong suit for Hermione.

"Lost, yeah right! Know-it-all like you probably never gets lost." Hermione flinched when she heard that backhanded compliment. "I heard your little chat with Potter. Planning on bringing down the teachers just because Gryffindor's about to win?"

". . . What?" Out of all the things Ron could've said, Hermione didn't expect that.

"You heard me!" Ron stomped closer, "I know what you lot are."

Hermione's pulse raced, she started to summon Disco Panic to defend herself. But, once again, expected anything except for what he actually said.

"Nothing but a bunch of snakes in lion's clothes." Fear stepped out of the way for pure confusion. "Probably used some sort of spell on the hat to get it to put you in my house. Trying to take down Gryffindor from the inside! That's the only thing that makes sense. After all, Longbottom's so useless, he can't be anything but a puff. Know-it-alls like you belong in Ravenclaw. And FREAKS like Potter-!"

Hermione noticed that, as Ron was speaking, something appeared behind him. A raggedy-patchwork of artwork held together by ugly, black stitches. It raised a clawed hand and struck the back of Weasley's neck. He crumbled to the ground like a tower of cards.

Her shock lasted two seconds before Disco Panic appeared. She relaxed when Draco Malfoy walked into view. But, she didn't dismiss Disco Panic just yet.

"Looked like you needed some help, Granger." He refocused on Disco Panic, "So, you got one too, huh?"

"Yes," Hermione didn't have much to say at that moment. The bizarreness of the situation had her seeing a mental blue screen of death.

"I'm guessing you're trying to stop whatever's happening on the field?"

And that kick-started her brain again, "Right!"

Hermione dashed off and, with nothing better to do, Draco followed.

It didn't take them long to get over to the Teacher's Stands. But, it was next to impossible to see who the mystery Stand-User was. Being underneath the bleachers meant all they saw were the User's shoes. And the black glow made everything they wore look black.

"What do we do?" Draco asked, feeling useless. There wasn't a painting in sight so he couldn't use his S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W at all.

Hermione racked her brains for an answer, any answer. . . She felt like smacking herself when she remembered one small detail. She was a witch, as well as a Stand-User.

"Get ready to run," she said. Hermione whipped her wand out and pointed at the Stand-User's robes. " _Inflamare_!"

As the fire started to grow, the two first-year students booked it. The growing commotion behind them said that Hermione's plan worked.

"I am so glad I stopped bullying you," Draco said between deep breaths. "Because you're bloody insane!

With her forehead covered in sweat, Hermione smiled, "Why thank you!"

**

-OK-

**

Harry scowled as he tried to concentrate. Each bludger flew so fast it almost overpowered his Smooth Criminal. He couldn't believe people actually play games with these things.

The glow disappeared and the bludgers stopped attacking him. Harry collapsed onto a seat with a sigh of relief. He wondered what Hermione did to stop the Stand-User. When Harry looked over and saw a growing fire over by the teachers, he snorted.

The reasons for Harry's concern for the sanity of magicals kept growing. The game didn't stop when the beaters when rogue. No, instead, the teams played around them. The Gryffindor seeker caught the snitch right after the beaters stopped attacking. Which led to the following announcement from Lee Jordan: 

"With a score of one-hundred seventy points to sixty, Gryffindor wins!"

Harry snickered when he realized there was a very conflicted Draco somewhere. Debating on whether he should celebrate his rival house's victory or not.

Everyone left the field once the game was over. Meanwhile, the teachers took the Slytherin beaters away for questioning. As they walked back, the Gryffindor house celebrated their victory like kings. Meanwhile, no one noticed the three stray Gryffindors and the single Slytherin.

"I can't believe this mystery Stand-User is one of our teachers!" Hermione's world view was crumbling down around her. Harry passed Draco ten Galleons when she wasn't looking.

"Which one do you think it is?" Draco asked as he put away the coin purse beneath his robes. "We couldn't see who it was from where we were."

Neville mumbled his answer, "My money's on Snape. . ."

"Watch it, Longbottom," Draco growled, making Neville squeak like a rodent. "He may not be a nice man, but he's still my godfather. He wouldn't do something like this."

To try and diffuse any further arguing, Hermione turned to Harry, "What do you think, Harry?"

"I would've said Quirrell, but we both know how that worked out." Draco needed that explained to him, but he laughed once it was. "All I know is that there is some seriously bizarre stuff going on around this place. Especially that third-floor corridor. The one that none of you thought to warn me about!"

Neville and Hermione had the decency to blush. Since Harry had missed the welcoming feast, he also missed Dumbledore's initial warning. He found that out the hard way. After wandering about the castle and coming face-to-face with a three-headed dog.

Harry shook his head, "All we can do now is wait. Sooner or later, that bastard is going to come for us. We just have to wait for that moment. Until then, we should be polishing up our Stand abilities. Some of us more than others. . ."

Harry and Draco turned to Hermione at the same time.

"What?"

"You know, I started pick-pocketing to improve Smooth Criminal's abilities," Harry said, off-hand.

"And after I got S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W I spent hour after hour staring at paintings. Even spent most of a month living inside one. . ."

Hermione hated to admit that she'd been ignoring Disco Panic since she showed up. The wizarding world was one thing, her bouts of accidental magic had prepared her for that. But, the matter of Stands was something else entirely. She couldn't even go to the library to do research on them! If she didn't have one herself, she'd hardly believe they existed.

She sighed, "Alright, I see your point. What would you suggest I do?"

Harry's grin turned devilish. Smooth Criminal dropped something into his hand that made Hermione pale.

"You ever heard of Dodgeball?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't think of a chapter title, so I decided to dedicate this one to Abbachio.


	10. Yuletide Experience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Mother's Day!

"Are you two going to be okay on your own?" Hermione asked with luggage in hand.

"We'll be fine, Hermione," Harry said. "Even I take time off for the holidays."

The look on Hermione's face said she didn't believe him. Harry's grin said he didn't expect her to. Smooth Criminal dropped something into Harry's off-hand.

"Regardless, here," Harry handed the well-wrapped present to Hermione. "Just to show I'm not a completely worthless thief."

Hermione looked at the wrapped gift for a moment. Then, she sat it down on top of her luggage, so she could give Harry a bone-crushing hug. "You are a lot of things, Harry Potter, but that is not one of them."

Once they separated, Harry tipped his hat down to hide the blush on his face. Hermione smirked and didn't hide it.

"Oh, get out of here," Harry said, still hiding his face, "Before I decide to double your training sessions."

"Merry Christmas, Harry," Hermione laughed off his half-hearted threat as she walked away.

Neville entered the Great Hall before she could leave. They exchanged presents, hugs, and goodbyes before Hermione needed to leave. After she left, Neville took his seat next to Harry.

"Are you sure you don't want to leave for the holidays, Harry?" Neville asked.

"I could ask the same of you," Harry replied.

"Gran said I should stay at Hogwarts this year for Christmas. Said being away from home would be good for me."

Harry gave him a pat on the back, "There are some blokes I usually hang out with around this time. But, I thought I'd see what Hogwarts looks like during the yuletide season. At least once."

Neville smiled as a warm feeling spread through his chest. It seemed that his lonely holiday wouldn't be so lonely after all.

****

**-OK-**

Over on the Hogwarts Express, Hermione found herself in an unexpected situation. Not long after she'd found a compartment and stowed her trunk away, Draco Malfoy showed up.

"Good day, Granger," he said.

And, before she could get a word out, Draco placed his truck across from hers. Then, he started layering the door with a myriad of spells. All ones that Hermione recognized as privacy enchantments.

"Shouldn't you be with your Slytherin friends?" She asked, both wary and curious of the new arrival.

"Maybe," he said with naught but a shrug. "But, I felt like spending time with you instead, Granger."

"And why's that?" She couldn't resist the urge to flinch when Draco pulled something from his robes. She felt quite silly when it turned out to be a simple sketchbook. Draco flipped to an unfinished page and started to draw.

"I guess you could say you opened my eyes." Without even looking at her, Draco continued to chat and draw. "Finding out Potter had a Stand was something of a shock, but understandable. He had magic blood, only seems natural he had the chance to gain a Stand. But, you. You were born from muggle parents and yet, you have both magic and a Stand. It goes against everything I was taught as a child. So, to try and correct those teachings, I would like to get to know you better."

After his rant, Draco finished drawing and put away his pencil. Hermione could see that it was a nice picture, well-drawn. Shining sun, large open field, small stream curving through the background, and, top it off, a herd of-

"Are those cats?"

"What-? Oh, right," Draco sighed as he flipped the sketchbook. Giving Hermione a better view of his creation. A small horde of cats of all different shapes and sizes. "My Stand, S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W, gets lonely sometimes. So, I draw him things like this to keep him entertained. Go on then, enjoy. . ."

Draco's Stand appeared in a flash of purple energy. Despite its raggedy appearance, Hermione could've sworn she saw it smile. Right before it disappeared into Draco's sketch.

Hermione let that settle for a moment before she forced herself to speak. "I wanted to ask you a question. . ."

"No one's stopping you, Granger," he said.

"You and Harry both call these things Stands, right?" Draco nodded and gestured for her to continue. "I just want to know how that's possible? I mean, you each have severely different backgrounds. So I want to know why you both use the same terminology."

"I have no idea," Hermione glared at him, not appreciating the joke. "I really don't. The way I found out about Stands was through a book. I unlocked S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W a few months later."

"A book?" Hermione hid her desires as well as a puppy with a leash in its mouth.

"Out of respect for what you did at the Quidditch field. I'll see if I can lend it to you." As Hermione was about to thank him, Draco smirked. "But, that means you'll owe me a favor, Granger."

Hermione paused, before she gave him a stiff nod, "That seems fair."

"Anyway, I really don't know how Potter knows about Stands," Draco scowls at his own lack of knowledge. "He's spent all his life with muggles, without any knowledge of the wizarding world. He should barely know how to hold a wand and yet, he's got a Stand."

"He's never said anything to you?"

"Something about an old man he met, but that's it," Draco said. The compartment went silent until Draco let another grin grace his features. "You know, I'm surprised, Granger."

"About what exactly?" That look said he'd better watch himself before he got punched.

Draco's confidence faltered as he scrambled for an answer. "Well, you've always seemed the type to just demand answers from the source. I'm surprised that you asked me instead of Potter."

"Harry's not the type to give straight answers, so I stopped trying a while ago. Besides," Hermione sighed, "demanding answers has never won me any friends in the past. I'd rather not lose the ones I have now."

Draco smirked, "And my respect for you grows, Granger."

The two unlikely friends spent the rest of the train ride talking. Exchanging stories about their childhoods and the things that shaped them. By the time they reached King's Cross Station, both of them felt closer and wiser than before.

****

**-OK-**

As Christmas Day approached, Harry found himself regretting his decision to stay.

Not because of Neville's company or the fact that Weasley had decided to stay. No, the reason he was having regrets was because of how cold the castle became.

Hogwarts was a castle made of stone with a very open floor plan. Combining those two things with winter in Scotland meant the castle practically froze. Harry'd slept on the streets before. But, even that paled in comparison to Hogwart's winter chill.

The weather had forced Harry to take off his treasured trilby hat. In exchange for a black beanie with the word 'Smooth' written in green, cursive letters on the front.

Disregarding that, Christmas Day itself came with more than few surprises.

The first of which is the sight of presents at the end of Harry's bed. Even after the Dursleys stopped torturing him, presents were not the norm of his existence.

He smiled when he noticed the names written on the packages: Hermione, Neville, Draco. Each one of his accomplices had decided to get him something. It was enough to make a thief feel loved. But, there was one present with no return address. The sight of it had him feeling tense.

Deciding to ignore the mystery present, for now, Harry opened Hermione's gift first. The paper was torn away and revealed a stack of novels. Harry laughed when he saw the title on their covers.

"What is it?" Neville asked, looking up from his new Herbology book.

"Books on Arsene de Lupin, Gentleman Thief." Harry smirked, "Irony above ironies, I've never actually read these before."

"Hmm. . . Thanks for the hat, by the way." The new, wool-laden, Aviator's hat already rested on Neville's head. Red plaid with a beige lining.

"Not a problem," Harry said. He had no shortage of hats, may as well share the love.

Neville's gift turned out to be a book on potion making. With a marked section on potions that would help with sneaking around, Harry thanked him. Draco's gift was a set of lockpicks, enchanted to never tarnish and remain steady when in use. Harry was jokingly insulted that Draco thought he had shaky hands.

After that, all that remained was Harry's unmarked present. Harry summoned Smooth Criminal and had him open it, just in case. When the paper fell away, the only thing in the package was a silver cloak.

"Well, that was a tad anticlimactic." Harry sighed and willed Smooth Criminal away. After a short once-over, Harry threw it over his shoulders. He had to admit that it was quite comfortable. "Hey, Neville, how do I look?"

Neville looked up from his book and paled, "You, uh- You look, umm. . ."

"What's the big de-Oh," Harry looked down and noticed the sides of his body were no longer visible. "Well, that's interesting."

"It's- It's an invisibility cloak," Neville exclaimed.

Harry looked himself over noticing that he couldn't see his body, no matter how you looked at it. Which meant one thing. . . He'd just received every thief's wet dream. Harry couldn't resist the devilish smile that grew on his face. "I am going to have so much fun with this."

"Looks like there's a card with it," Neville pointed out.

Harry grabbed the stray piece of paper and started to read aloud. "Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well."

"Does it say who sent it?"

"Doesn't seem like it. Shame, they'll never realize how much I appreciate my new toy." Before Neville could voice his worries, Harry handed the cloak to Smooth Criminal and it disappeared. "I think I'm going out on a midnight stroll tonight. So I can appreciate Hogwart's nightlife properly."

****

**-OK-**

It'd been months since Draco challenge Harry to their nighttime duel. During that time, Harry never got to enjoy the experience that was Hogwarts at night. Now that he had the cloak, Harry found that he loved it.

It could be the thief in him, but Harry loved quiet places. Nothing moving, nothing breathing. Only the sound of his footsteps echoing throughout the halls. The sensation calmed Harry and left him with a sense of peace as he wandered.

Now that's a door I've never seen before, he thought. Given how big Hogwarts proved to be, Harry found new places within its wall all the time.

He made to test the door and felt disappointed when he found it unlocked. Draco's gifts to him would go unused, for now anyway. Harry slipped into the room and shut the door behind him with nary a click.

The only thing present in the room was a mirror. A mirror that stood by itself in the very center of the room, begging for attention.

Harry walked up to this mirror and spotted the inscription engraved at the top. His brow furrowed with confusion before he deciphered it.

"I show you not your face, but your hearts desire. Is that right?" Harry allowed a lopsided grin to grace his face before looking into the mirror proper. "Then, what is it that my heart desires?"

The surface shimmered and warped until Harry could no longer see his own reflection. Instead, he saw himself, but older. Wearing a black suit with his trademark hat resting over his face. Harry couldn't help but notice how calm his older self looked. Lounged across a chair(some would call it a throne) with not a care in the world.

His fellow accomplices were there too; Hermione, Neville, Draco. All of them wearing suits, standing by his side, and looking happy and at peace.

Harry smirked, this was not just his heart's desire. It was his heart's future, "Just you wait. Wait until they get a load of me."

Feeling no reason to stay longer, Harry left the room. Never noticing the person who'd been there the entire time, hiding beneath a charm.

Professor Dumbledore stepped into the moonlight, looking pensive. With an off-hand, he retrieves a quill and a leather-bound journal from within his robes. As he started speaking, the journal floated into the air as the quill began to write.

"Case log number one-hundred thirty-seven. As stated in previous entries, Harry Potter is nothing like I expected him to be. On the surface, he acts like a completely normal student. But, I've seen multiple instances where he adopts a more sinister expression. He continues to defy my expectations with the Mirror of Erised. Instead of seeing his family as I'd hoped, he's seen something different. I can not say what that is at this time.

"There is also the matter of the strange power several occupants of Hogwarts, including Mister Potter, now possess. I have no knowledge of what this power is. It bears no resemblance to any prior experience I have had in the past. As of now, the only occupants that possess this power are Mister Harry Potter, Miss Hermione Granger, Mister Draco Malfoy, and Mister Tom Riddle, also known as the Dark Lord Voldemort. But, I fear that this number will only grow as things progress. . . Regardless, Mister Potter is still proceeding as planned. More to report at a later date. End of log."

****

**-OK-**

"Are you cold, Harry?"

"Just peachy," Harry said, right before he sneezed.

Two days after Christmas, the boys made their way to Hagrid's little hut. The giant of a man had invited them for a more private celebration as a way to catch up and converse. Neither of them had any reason to decline the offer.

As they approached, Neville knocked on the door. Whilst Harry tried to keep himself from shivering. The sounds of a dog barking and heavy footsteps echoed.

"Back, Fang," Hagrid's booming voice shouted. The door opened and the keeper of keys broke into a wide smile. At least, that's what Harry thought he did. Hard to tell with the beard and all that. "'Arry! Neville! Nice to see ya!"

"Nice to see you too, Hagrid," Harry said; Neville also returned the greeting.

"Well, come on then, get in," Hagrid started ushering them into his home. "Don't want to catch a cold, now do we?"

Harry found the inside much warmer than outside. Made evident by the roaring fire in the fireplace. Harry let out an audible sigh of relief as he felt the heat seep into his bones.

Harry and Neville sat down in two overly-large chairs. Meanwhile, Hagrid busied himself by making tea and setting out a plate of rock-like cakes.

"I've been meanin' to ask ye, Harry," he said. "How've ya been enjoying Hogwarts so far?"

"It's been nice, if not a bit more bizarre than I'd been expecting," Harry said. While Neville hurt himself trying to bite into a rock cake.

The groundskeeper looked honestly confused, "Watcha mean?"

"Is it normal for troll's to attack girl's bathrooms around here?"

Hagrid's face twisted, "Aye, that's. . . That's not supposed to happen. But, everything should be fine with Professor Dumbledore around!"

"What about the giant three-headed dog in the third-floor corridor?"

"How'd you find out about Fluffy?" Hagrid asked, looking spooked like a dog around fireworks.

Neville couldn't hold his tongue, "That thing has a name?"

"Course he's got a name, he's mine. Gave him to Professor Dumbledore to help guard the- The, uh. . . I shouldn't have said that."

"Let me guess, that special package you got from Gringotts?" Harry pressed further with a devilish grin etched into his features.

"Package?" Neville asked.

"Hagrid took me shopping in Diagon Alley for the first time. When we went to Gringotts, we needed to take a detour so Hagrid could grab a package for Dumbledore. I was very interested in it, but I never got the chance to get a closer look." Neville took that to mean he wanted to steal it. "Imagine my surprise when I heard that same vault had been broken into later that day."

"That's not of yer business. The only people who need to know about that are Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel. . ." It took Hagrid more than a few seconds to realize what he just said. "I shouldn't have said that. Oh, I definitely should not have said that. . ."

Harry's thoughts raced, where have I heard that name before? And then it all clicked. Pieces started coming together as Harry thought about everything that's happened to him around Hogwarts. The boat, the troll, the quidditch match, all of it coming down to a hunch. Nothing more than a guess. But, it was all he had to work with.

Breaking out of his revelation, Harry noticed Neville looked frightened and Hagrid was in the process of beating himself up. I need to fix this right now, Harry thought, before he starts beating himself up for real.

"Hey, I'm sorry, Hagrid." Harry tried to grace his large friend with a carefree smile. "You're right, it was none of my business, whatsoever. I'll just forget everything that's happened in the past five minutes. . . So, how have you been lately?"

"Oh, uh, well. . ." Hagrid didn't expect the sudden shift in conversation. "Somethin's been spooking the unicorns. Don't know what though."

The three of them talked for the next hour. Chatting about classes, Hagrid's newest pets, and Neville even threw in some Herbology facts. They left once Hagrid mentioned he needed to chop up some firewood.

Once they left, Neville rounded on Harry. . . At least, as much as he could bring himself to.

"What happened back there?"

"I put all the pieces together," Harry said.

"What?" Neville's face was pure confusion.

"Nicholas Flamel," Harry said, "Is history's most famous alchemist. The man who created the Philosopher's Stone. That same stone could turn lead into gold and grant a person eternal life."

"Woah. . . Wait, how do you know that?"

"After Smooth Criminal showed up, I started researching the supernatural. Looking for anything even close to what it was." Harry shrugged, "Flamel's story was one of many dead-ends, but it made for good entertainment."

"So, what does that have to do with the enemy Stand-User?"

"Think about it, the stone shows up at Hogwarts. And then, the next thing we know a rogue Stand-User starts wreaking havoc? Not to mention big, bad, and fluffy over on the third-floor-corridor. That's all too much of a coincidence to ignore. What better reason to attack the safest place in the wizarding world than eternal life?"

"But that still doesn't tell us who this person is," Neville added.

"No, it doesn't. But, it gives us time to prepare. We know what they want and where it is, which means we can set up precautions." Harry spun around, the ends of his robe fluttering like a cape. "Come on, I have an idea and we're going to need to set it up before Hermione and Draco get back. . ."


	11. Crazy Corridor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the worldbuilding has been a bit slow, but here's the climax! . . . Or at the very least the buildup to the climax.

Nearing the end of his first year at Hogwarts, Harry felt very tired. Not because the end of the year was approaching. Or because they hadn't found the enemy Stand-User yet. No, the main reason was that finals were coming up. Which sent Hermione on a warpath of studying and memorization.

Hermione was a dear friend, but it was getting ridiculous. She wouldn't stop studying at all for the past few weeks. He even saw her looking over third-year material at dinner.

Of course, there was another reason for his exhaustion. That was because of the incident involving Hagrid. The one that started a few weeks ago and only got resolved recently.

****

**-OK-**

"For the last time, Hermione, you need to take a break."

Harry and Neville decided to visit Hagrid. They also decided to bring Hermione along, which sent the young witch into a fit. Complaining that she still had studying to do and that they should be studying as well. But, Harry and Neville insisted.

"Besides, you've barely spent any time with Hagrid," Harry said. "Think of this as an opportunity to learn from him. He probably knows more about magical creatures than you do."

Hermione mulled over the information in her head. She bowed her head and sighed, "Fine."

Satisfied with her answer, the trio continued on to Hagrid's hut. Harry couldn't be more grateful for the warmer weather. His usual black and green hat was a lot less irritating than the wool beanie he'd been wearing.

When they came to Hagrid's door, they found the area a lot warmer than usual. Hermione could even see the heat waves shimmering around the hut. With confused glances all around, Harry knocked on the door.

The keeper of keys answered and opened the door. Letting an incredible amount of heat seep into the open air. Harry could already feel himself sweating in his robes.

"Hey there, Hagrid," Harry said. "What, uh, what's going on?"

"Oh, umm, well. . ." Hagrid struggled to think of a response. Then, he sighed and his massive shoulders sagged. "Oh, I won' be able to keep it from ye anyway. Come on in."

The heat was even worse inside the hut. Seeing as the school dress code required many layers, this was not ideal.

Hagrid stayed right in front of the fireplace, bushy beard and all. Hovering over a pot with an over-sized egg laying inside.

"Something tells me you're not planning on eating that." Harry noticed the child-like look of wonder covering Hagrid's face.

Hermione was the one who decided to bite the bullet and ask, "Hagrid, what is that?"

"It's a dragon egg."

"You're joking, right?" Harry asked, eyes wide. Neville froze out of pure fear. As if the egg was already a full-grown, fire-breathing monster.

Hermione's reaction was much more. . . composed. "Hagrid, hatching a dragon outside a sanctuary is illegal! Where did you even get it?"

Hagrid wasn't prepared for Hermione's patented 'Verbal Onslaught' and started spilling his guts. "Well, I won it from a bloke down at the pub."

"What'd he look like?" Harry asked. A dragon was something Hagrid said he always wanted. So, a random man showing up with one under his cloak was suspect, to say the least.

"Don't know, he never showed his face. . ."

And the suspicion levels were rising. "Did he ask you anything? Or did you find something missing after you talked to him?"

"I think I heard him say that he was interested in Fluffy, but. . ." Hagrid put a hand to his forehead and grimaced. "Nah, blast it, I can't remember. Guess I was drinkin' a bit too much that night."

Harry noted that Hagrid's story resembled the one given by the two beaters on the Slytherin team. They were preparing for the game when someone approached them from behind. All they felt was a prick at the back of their necks. The next thing they knew the teachers were questioning them.

"Regardless, you can't keep it," Hermione tried to reason. "Hagrid, you live in a wooden house and you want to try to raise a fire-breathing dragon? It's not a good idea and a dragon belongs with its own kind."

It took a lot longer to convince Hagrid to give up his dragon. The one stipulation was that they needed to wait until the dragon hatched first. Something that even Hermione seemed to agree with. Seeing as a long journey could result in damage to the unborn creature.

All that left was how they'd actually get it out of the castle and where they would get it to.

After half an hour of brainstorming, that ultimately amount to nothing. Harry remembered something the twins told him. The twins were natural troublemakers, which meant they got along with Harry very well.

Which is why they told him about why they needed to stay behind during the Christmas Holiday. . .

"The Weasleys have an older brother who works with dragons," Harry said. "We can send it to them."

"Do you think they'll play along?" Hermione asked.

Harry shrugged, "We'll just have to wait and see."

****

**-OK-**

Once he approached them, the twins were easily persuaded. All it took was the promise of a one-time, no questions asked favor to get them to play along. Normally, Harry would loathe giving that sort of power to anyone else. But, the twins knew better than to ask anything. . . troublesome of him. Regardless, the twins got in contact with their brother and everything was set up.

Weeks passed until the dragon hatched. Hagrid got three days to bond with the little monster. Three days until Norbert needed to leave.

The trio almost got caught delivering Norbert. Thanks to the actions of the youngest Weasley brother. But, thanks to Smooth Criminal and Disco Panic scaling Gryffindor tower, they got away scot-free. Not to mention, a little help from Harry's invisibility cloak. . . On another note, Ron got detention and blamed the trio with every fiber of his being.

Harry learned later that week that someone in the forbidden forest was drinking unicorn blood. Discovered by Hagrid, Fang, and a very traumatized Ron Weasley. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that the whole fiasco had to do with their mystery Stand-User.

Back to the present, Harry was laying bed. Feeling his back pop and crack as his whole body relaxed. After all that had happened over the past few weeks, a good night's sleep was a welcome pleasure.

"Oi, Potter."

Scratch that thought. . . Harry reached under his pillow and pulled out a miniature portrait. One drawn up to look like an empty Gryffindor common room. Seeing Draco's tiny form standing in the middle of it, Harry asked, "What is it, Draco?"

"Your little plan actually worked." Any and all ideas of sleep vanished from Harry's mind. "Someone went into the third-floor corridor, couple minutes ago."

"Go tell Hermione, we'll meet you there," Harry said.

"I was already going to do that. . ." Draco grumbled before leaving the painting.

Harry ignored that comment and got out of bed. He sent Smooth Criminal to wake Neville as he got dressed.

"Wha-what?" Neville yelped when he fell out of bed from the impromptu wake-up call.

"Get dressed," Harry said as he buttoned up his black dress shirt. If they were running face-first into danger, Harry wanted to look his best. "Draco gave the signal, it's time."

Once Neville got dressed, they met up with Hermione in the common room. Apparently, she had the same idea as Harry. Wearing Jeans and a t-shirt, one with an exclamation point and a triangle on it.

"Got your wand?" Harry asked.

"I should be asking you that. Lord knows you don't use yours as much as I do," she scoffed.

"Just needed to make sure," Harry smirked. "We only got one shot at this, can't make any mistakes."

The word 'mistakes' sent Neville into a downward spiral. He wasn't feeling very confident about any of this. Or, at least, his part in it.

They set out with Harry's cloak to hide them from view. Having Smooth Criminal hold it up was much more efficient than being crammed under it like a sardine can. But, once they arrived at their destination, Harry made his Stand pocket the cloak.

Across from the infamous third-floor corridor, there was a painting. A painting that Harry borrowed and relocated to that exact spot. Once Draco got back from Christmas break, they had him use his Stand on it. Forcing the inhabitants of the painting to alert them if someone were to step in front of it.

"Took you long enough," Draco said as he leapt out of the painting.

Harry snorted before adopting a more serious look, "How long?"

"About fifteen minutes, give or take."

"I see. Are you coming with us?"

This time it was Draco who snorted, "Yeah, right! I doubt, well actually, I know, that aren't any paintings down there. My Stand would be absolutely useless. And speaking of things that are useless. . ."

Neville knew that was directed at him. While Hermione looked about ready to rip into Draco with both words and fists, Neville spoke. "Actually, guys, I agree with Draco."

Hermione froze mid-sentence, while Harry kept his eyes hidden beneath his hat. Neville felt very awkward being under that much attention. "I mean, I don't have a Stand like you guys do. I'll just get in your way. . . Or worse, get you killed."

Hermione's flames of vengeance started to fade while Draco looked the tiniest bit guilty. As for Harry, he walked right up to Neville and put a hand on his shoulder. Looking him right in the eyes as he talked. "I picked you and Hermione for a reason, Neville. Even before Hermione got her Stand, I knew the two of you would be perfect to stand by my side. Now, if you want to stay behind, I won't blame you. But, I'd rather have you with me instead."

Neville stood in silent shock. No other person in his life had ever put that much faith in him. Faced with such resounding trust, Neville couldn't say no. "I'll come with you!"  
The trio of friends smiled at each other. . . Before Draco coughed and ruined the moment.

"As touching as all of this is, I'm still staying behind." Draco turned his head away, not wanting to meet Harry's gaze. "But, I guess, I can keep watch for you. In case anybody else comes by and you need back-up."

Harry smiled, "Thanks, Draco."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, just. . . Just get out of here before I send S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W after you." The trio decided not to mention the very obvious blush on the Slytherin's cheeks.

"See ya later, Draco," Harry said.

They walked up to the door that was holding back a six-ton behemoth of a dog. Smooth Criminal and Disco Panic appeared, ready to protect their users. On the count of three, Harry opened the door.

They walked in to find the sight of a harp playing by itself and a sleeping Cerberus.

"Well, that's a bit anticlimactic," Harry said.

Hermione gave the harp a thorough examination. "Didn't Hagrid mention Fluffy needs music to fall asleep?"

"Sounds about right," he said, right as the harp stopped playing. Fluffy started to whine and growl because of the lack of music. "Oh, that's not good."

"Where's the trap door? We need to get out of here!" Neville's shouting did not help the situation at all.

"He's still standing on it," Hermione hissed.

"Guys, I think we got bigger problems than that. . ."

As Fluffy shook off the last dredges of sleep, his body glowed with a black aura. Each head focused its eyes on one of the trio. Fluffy growled like the fearsome beast of legends that it was.

"You like music don't ya, big guy?" Smooth Criminal glowed green as he reached up his sleeve. "Then let's see how you like this, **[Smooth Criminal]**!"

Instead of bringing out a weapon of some sort. Like Hermione, Neville, and even Fluffy expected, he brought out. . . A boombox. One that already had a cassette ready to play. A funky beat started belting out from the speakers.

"What is he- Oh god, please tell me this isn't what I think it is." Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

"What is it?" I don't-" Neville got cut off as a giant paw tried to crush Harry's music player. Smooth Criminal grabbed it before it got smashed, right as the first lyrics started to play.

_"As he came into the window. Was a sound of a crescendo."_

"Bad dog," Harry said. " Mind control or not, you need a lesson in good music."

"Harry, we don't have time for this!" Hermione said, in an attempt to reason with him.

"I beg to differ," Harry said. He dodged another paw as his Stand punched Fluffy in one of its faces. "If we don't deal with him now. He'll just be a pain later on. Besides, I only need until the end of the song."

Hermione huffed and stood against the wall. If Harry wanted to do this, she wasn't going to argue with him. Meanwhile, Neville was starting to understand why Harry picked this song.

_"You've been hit by- You've struck by- A Smooth Criminal!"_

" **Tor-rururururu**!"

Harry's Stand let out a barrage of punches to fight off the three hungry mouths trying to get it. Smooth Criminal dodged and weaved through the massive sets of teeth like water. Meanwhile, his user literally danced around Fluffy's paws.

As the song reached its own crescendo, Harry decided to act.

Though his actions seemed like pure arrogance and stupidity, they had a purpose. An attempt to find any sort of pins sticking out of Fluffy's body. He didn't find any from below, which left Smooth Criminal to find them from above.

Three silver glints peaking out from thick, dark brown fur. Placed on the base of Fluffy's neck, all three of them. The coarse hair almost hiding them from sight. But, even with only one eye showing, Smooth Criminal could see them clear as day.

And, as Alien Ant Farm let out one last question for Annie, Harry struck.

"Do it now, **[Smooth Criminal]**!"

" **TORU**! **TORU**! **TORU**!"

With all the pins gone, Fluffy collapsed to the floor sleeping like the dead. Being controlled like a puppet through an evil Stand must've been draining. Harry gave all three heads a pat as an apology for the rough treatment.

"I can not believe you did that," Hermione said.

Harry smirked, "What were you expecting? I'm the same person who named their owl, Annie. . . Well, it used to be Annie, anyway."

Hermione's minor annoyance shifted to concern, "Why? Is she okay?"

"Are you asking me if Annie is okay?" Hermione growled and Disco Panic re-materialized. "Everything's fine! She just didn't like the name. Made that abundantly clear when she bit the head off a mouse while staring into my soul. Her name is Hedwig now."

"Hmm, much better than what you came up with," Hermione giggled.

Harry narrowed his eyes, "Oi, don't you think I didn't notice the shirt you're wearing! Panic! At the Disco, ain't it?"

"Guys?"

"My dad got it for me! He's a fan of the band and it reminds me of home."

"Guyyyyys!"

"Still seems a bit-"

"GUYS!"

Broken from their minor argument, they turned to Neville. Who was standing next to the open trap door looking somewhat annoyed with the two of them.

"Don't you think we have other problems to deal with right now?"

Harry and Hermione looked to each other and then shrugged.

"He's got a point," Harry said.

"Don't think that means this is over," she replied.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Now then-" Harry gestured towards the open trap door. "After you, milady."

"Oh my, what a gentleman," Hermione put a hand to her chest, feigning flattery.

"Of course! I'm a thief and a scoundrel, but that doesn't mean I can't be a gentle-Whoa!"

Harry didn't expect it when Hermione pushed him ahead of her. Sending him falling into the shadowy depths below.

"Turnabout's fair play," she smirked, before jumping down herself.

Neville sighed, realizing how much Harry had corrupted Hermione since their first meeting. For a moment, he wondered how long it would take before he was corrupted as well.

Disregarding that, Neville took a moment to psych himself up. Before joining his friends in the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, to answer any potential questions, I changed Annie back to Hedwig because I kept calling her Hedwig in my mind and I knew at some point when she became more prevalent I'd end up making a mistake. So, a change was needed. And yes, Harry was doing the full Michael Jackson dance from the Smooth Criminal music video.


	12. Neville's Fall Out Boy

After getting kicked into the trapdoor by Hermione. Harry landed in a large pile of something warm of squishy. When he scrambled to get to his feet, the pile started wrapping itself around him.

"What the-"

Hermione landed a second later with a cheeky grin plastered over her face. Before she could brag about the minor victory, she let out a yelp upon landing in the pile of tangled vines. Like Harry, her first instinct was to try and stand. Which led to Hermione being all wrapped up in the unidentified plant.

Neville joined them a few seconds later. His face scrunched up, trying to decipher the situation playing out in front of him.

"Hey, welcome to the party!" Harry said as a vine tried to slip itself around his throat. Smooth Criminal appeared and pulled the offending vine away from its user.

"This-this is Devil's Snare!" Neville shouted, "They'll let you go if you stop struggling."

"Well, I don't think I can stop struggling at this point, bud," Harry growled. The situation as a whole was bringing up bad memories and 'letting it happen' was not a possibility.

"Well, they also hate sunlight?"

"Hermione, think you got something for this?" The vines were growing tighter, like how Harry's patience was getting shorter.

"Of course," after a moment or two, Hermione managed to pull her wand out. "Let's see. . . I believe the spell was- _Lumos Solem_!"

Light burst from Hermione's wand; bathing the dark room in white light. Harry and Neville barely had a moment to shield their eyes from the blast. Harry could've sworn he heard the Devil's Snare hiss as the light touched it. The vines pulled away, withering in the light. Parts of it broke off, shriveling up like worms in the sun.

The trio dropped a few feet to the ground below. Harry and Hermione landed on their feet. Neville almost didn't, but Smooth Criminal grabbed his collar at the last second.

Harry straightened his hat, "What's next?"

"There's a door over there," Hermione pointed out.

"And I have my answer, come on, let's go."

As they moved forward, there was this sound that started to build. It grew louder as they got closer to the door. It sounded like dozens of fluttering wings at max speed. Neville gripped his wand like a vice, while the others summoned their Stands.

On the count of three, they opened the door and found it empty. Empty except for a lone broom sitting on a pedestal. Harry wondered where the fluttering sound was coming from. . . Until he looked up.

"Are those. . . flying keys?"

Dozens of keys fused with bird wings, flying across the ceiling. The sight of it would make Hitchcock look like an amateur. As always, Hermione was already trying to solve the puzzle.

"One of them probably goes to that door," Hermione said. The boys looked and saw the only way forward blocked by a wooden door. "Use the broom to get up there, grab the right key, and you're on your way. . . It's obviously a trap. The broom won't work or the keys will attack us. Either way, something's going to go wrong."

Harry smirked, "Good thing we won't be using that then. Hermione, which key do you think it is?"

Hermione checked the lock of the door, "It's going to be an older key. If we're assuming the enemy Stand-User did this too. Then, go for one with a busted wing."

Harry scanned the flying mass, "Found it."

The key they were looking for was slower than its brothers. Fluttering about like a wounded animal. Old-fashioned, bronze, and like Hermione said, flying with a broken wing.

Harry addressed his female companion, "Think you can cull the herd a bit?"

Disco Panic appeared, "Of course."

"Good, you do that and when they start to panic I'll have Smooth Criminal grab the key when it comes past. Got it?" Hermione nodded, "On my signal. . . Now!"

" **[Disco Panic]**!" With a twin softball pitch, Disco Panic's orbs soared through the air. Bouncing off the walls until it hit the mass of flying keys. Like Harry predicted, the group scattered like cockroaches. Shooting across the room to avoid the rushing spheres of death.

After a few seconds of chaos, their target entered Smooth Criminal's range. One punch to take its wings and all Harry needed to do was catch it. What they didn't account for were the remaining keys going crazy.

They aimed at Harry like ballistic missiles. Harry threw the key as his Stand defended him against the onslaught. "Neville, open the door!"

The young Gryffindor stumbled and, almost, fell on his face. But, he managed to rush to the door and stuff the key inside.

"It's open," Neville shouted.

Hermione recalled Disco Panic while Smooth Criminal provided cover. The trio ran out of that room and into the next. Slamming the door behind them to avoid getting skewered. The sounds of over a dozen keys sinking into the wood weren't very comforting.

"Now, where the hell are we?" Harry asked, feeling a bit out of breath.

They stepped right onto a giant chessboard. Black pieces on their side, white on the other; none of them with faces. Three pieces on Black's side were missing.

"Something tells me we can't just-" Harry tried walking past the white pieces and found a sword pressed to his throat. "Yeah, didn't think so. . . Either of you any good at chess?"

Neville shook his head, "No, sorry."

Hermione didn't look confident either, "I never got the hang of it."

Harry sighed, "I know how to do speed chess. But, I'm not sure how useful that's going to be against something like this. I can give it a shot, see if it works well."

It did not go well.

The trio took their places as Bishop, Rook, and Knight. Things went downhill from there.

The white pieces were unstoppable. Taking two black pieces before Harry could even take one of theirs. The White Queen was their ace, their unstoppable force.

By the time Harry found a good rhythm, it was almost too late. Half his pieces were gone and the white pieces were advancing further.

Harry's heart almost stopped in his chest when the Queen slid up to Neville. He couldn't see a place to move him that would save him. Hermione was yelling at him to do something. While Neville. . . Neville looked terrified but resigned. As if he expected to be the sacrifice on their adventure. Harry couldn't stand for that.

Long ago, before Smooth Criminal appeared, Harry had nothing. And whenever he did get something, they took it away. Once his Stand manifested, Harry decided that nothing would ever be taken away from him again.

Seeing Neville about to be taken from him, sparked something in Harry. The green glow that signaled Smooth Criminal's ability sparked to life around him. It spread through the board, to all the remaining black pieces.

They stood from their pedestals and charged the remaining white pieces. In a blatant disregard for any rules of chess, they attacked. Swinging their stone weapons and smashing the remaining white pieces into rubble.

The last piece to fall was the White King, through the actions of two Black Pawns. As he crumbled, the wooden doors creaked open.

After that, Harry snapped out of his trance. The green glow faded and he walked off the board, dusting his hands off.

"Talk about a rush, huh?" Harry looked at the rubble covering the board. "Wonder why that happened?"

Neither Hermione or Neville could respond. They realized what Harry did, but they couldn't figure out how he did it. But then, they remembered the clock they were on. Needed to stop the enemy Stand-User before they got the stone and gained eternal life. Which put the possibility of reality-altering powers on hold.

The new hallway was quite a ways longer than the previous ones. Harry had to wonder what this was all for. Before Dumbledore or whoever turned it into an obstacle course.

When they approached the next room, it was empty. At least, that's how it looked from the hallway. A straight shot to another hallway.

"I guess. . . They forgot to put another obstacle here?" Neville asked.

Harry was on high alert. Something didn't feel right, every other room had an obstacle. So, why didn't this one? The first step into this new room was when it happened. The whistling sound of something moving super fast. The sound right above their heads-

"Everybody down!"

Harry managed to push his friends out of the way, along with himself. Right before a gigantic wooden club almost reduced them to red paste.

"Of course there'd be another one of these things. . ."

Harry found himself staring into the eyes of another mountain troll. Surrounded by a pitch-black aura, but not a pin in sight. Plus, this troll was different compared to the first one they saw. For starters, it was a lot skinnier with a lot more muscle.

"Where the hell did they find a buff troll?"

Hermione scrambled to her feet, "I don't think that's normal, Harry."

"They probably drugged it. There are a lot of plants that can affect muscle growth when you brew it the right way," Neville added.

"Just great," Harry said. The troll started to move, holding its club like you would a sword. " **[Smooth Criminal]** , go for its eyes!"

Harry wasn't pulling any punches this time around, not after what happened last time. His Stand shot out, aiming for the troll's face.

" **Tor-rurururururu**!"

The troll threw up its club. Blocking all the punches that Harry's Smooth Criminal threw at it.

" **[Disco Panic]**!" Hermione's Stand appeared and threw her Panic Spheres. They bounced off the walls, then shot towards the troll's chest.

But, before they could hit, the troll caught them. It didn't smack them away or throw them, the troll held them in its hand. Much to Hermione's shock.

"Looks like Mister Enemy Stand-User learned after last time," Harry said.

Smooth Criminal went off and punched the troll's closed fist. Stealing the spheres trapped inside. He handed them back to Disco Panic soon after.

"How are we going to do this?" Hermione asked.

Harry cracked his neck, "We go at it at the same time. If we keep it preoccupied on both sides, then we should be able to get a lethal blow in. Take some pot shots with Disco Panic, I'll keep aiming for his vitals. Ready? Go!"

Harry's plan worked out for the most part. The troll was faster than its kin. But, that was still slow compared to the might of a Stand.

Neither side was sustaining any serious injuries though. A few cuts and bruises at most. But, Harry and Hermione were wearing down faster than the troll was. And the one person who could see all of this was Neville.

And, as he watched the fight continue, his self-confidence dropped to an all-time low.

I. . . can't do anything, he thought. I don't know any good spells like Hermione. I don't have a Stand like Harry. I'm just useless. . . Useless, useless, useless, absolutely useless!

That self-hatred burned in Neville. It set a fire in his gut that burned a hole into his very soul. A part of him wanted to leave. To go back to the surface and let Draco laugh at him for running away. It'd do more than what was he doing down there.

But then, something happened. Something bad.

Disco Panic's orbs were on the return, shooting towards her palms. The troll reached out and grabbed them. Smooth Criminal tried stealing them back. But before he could, the troll started squeezing. And Hermione started screaming.

"My hands, my hands!" Tears poured down her face as her hands warped and contorted. Even ten feet away, Neville could hear the sound of bones cracking.

"Hermione," Harry shouted. He tried getting the orbs back, but the troll continued to block his attempts.

It blocked Smooth Criminal with its club, then it turned to Hermione. The troll raised its meaty fist above her head. Ready to crush Hermione into a bloody pulp.

Meanwhile, Neville stood helpless at the sideline. His thoughts ran wild and he started muttering to himself, praying to a god that wasn't listening. "No, no, no, no. I can't- There has to be- Please no!"

The troll's first started to descend. As it inched closer, it sparked something inside of Neville. All that self-hatred set his body on fire, it exploded inside him. Neville narrowed his eyes, lips pulled back in a snarl as his body glowed yellow.

"Get the fuck away from her, you stupid piece of shit!"

To hear those words coming from poor, shy, little Neville was shocking enough. But, what made it even more shocking was the small figure floating next to his head.

It was a small thing with a body made of thick, grey wires. Yellow globes to make up its hands and feet. The same for its head, except for two little black dots for eyes. The little Stand rode a red and white rocket. The letters F. O. B. written in big gold letters at the bottom. To anyone else, it looked like a toy.

Neville didn't notice it at first. Too taken up with glaring at the troll. But, he did notice when it flew in front of his face.

"Whoa, what that-? Is this my-?" Neville shook his head and growled. "No, we can't deal with that later. Right now, we need to kill that ugly shit over there."

Neville's Stand nodded its little head. Floating over to his shoulder, it pointed at something sticking to Neville's robes. A leftover piece of the Devil's Snare. The little Stand turned its rocket around and showed its user the little hatch on the side. The one that said 'Insert Here' with an arrow pointing to the handle.

"Alright, let's do this." Neville grabbed the plant cutting and dropped it into the hatch. The rocket boosters ignited as Neville's Stand aimed at the troll.

"Fire when ready, **[Fall Out Boy]**!"

Blast off, Neville's Stand shot towards the troll. Aimed directly at its chest, going for a direct hit. . . Until the troll smacked it away with its off hand.

Neville growled, "Don't think it's that easy, bastard!"

The troll made a growl of its own. It wanted to silence the annoying wizard in front of it but found unexpected resistance. It looked down at its hand and saw rapidly-growing vines.  
The vines were growing and growing, anchoring itself and the troll to the nearest wall. The troll tried to pull itself free, but the vines continued to grow. Wrapping themselves around more and more of the troll's body.

"That's Devil's Snare," Neville said. "The more you struggle, the more it grows. It'll keep getting tighter too until your entire body is covered in vines. At that point, your bones will snap like toothpicks. It's scared of fire, but. . ."

Neville glanced at the troll's struggling figure. Saw the hatred in its eyes, trying to hide its fear. Neville smirked. . .

"You don't really look like a wizard, do ya, mister troll?"

The troll roared and rushed to free itself, ignoring Neville's 'warning'. The vines kept growing until the covered the troll's entire body. Just like Neville predicted. You could hear thunderous cracks coming from within the mass of vines. Signs that the troll's bones were breaking.

The troll roared in defiance again, before one last crack echoed through the chamber. After that, blood started to seep out and drip onto the floor. Dying the green vines red.

"Come on back, Fall Out Boy," Neville said.

The miniature Stand popped its head out from the vines. Carrying its little rocket underarm as it traveled back to Neville. Once Fall Out Boy left, the vines started receding. Back into the little scrap, it was before. Leaving behind a broken and bloody troll corpse.

Disco Panic's Panic Spheres dropped from the dead troll's hand. Allowing them to return to their master and give Hermione a little bit of relief for her aching hands.

Meanwhile, Neville thanked his Stand before it faded away. He turned back to his friends. Back to his usual self as he scratched at his head. "Guess I'm really part of the gang now, huh?"

****

**-OK-**

**Stand Name: Fall Out Boy**

**Stand User: Neville Longbottom**

**Namesake: Fall Out Boy(American Alt-Rock Band)**

**Destructive Power: E**

**Speed: B**

**Range: A(50 Meters)**

**Durability: C**

**Developmental Potential: A**

**Accelerated Plant Growth: By placing a seed/sapling/plant inside of its rocket, Fall Out Boy can speed up the growth process of that plant. Making it grow to full-size, or beyond, in the span of seconds. It doesn't matter if the plant is dead or not, as long as it can fit inside the rocket, then it will grow.**

**Also Known As: Steroids for plants**

**Also Known As: Bakugo mixed with Shiozaki**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For all of those hardcore JoJo fans, I know that since the 'Panic Spheres' aren't part of Disco Panic's body, the damage shouldn't reflect onto Hermione. But, for now, I'm going to write it as if it was. Think of them like Sheer Heart Attack. To an extent, the damage they take does reflect on the user.


	13. Quirinus Quirrell's Stand

With the still-fresh corpse of the troll behind them. Harry and the others celebrated their minor victory.

"That was amazing, Neville," Harry said. He gave Neville a customary pat on the shoulder. "Congrats, unlocking your Stand is something to be proud of."

"Oh, well, thanks. . ." Neville's cheek turned bright red. He wasn't used to such praise. Fall Out Boy reappeared, riding his little rocket around Neville's head. Making little, happy noises the whole time.

"He's right, Neville, you should be proud- Ah!" Hermione's yelp reminded the boys of what was most important at that moment. That being Hermione's severe injuries. The shock of Neville's awakening caused a momentary lapse of judgment.

"Hermione!" They both rushed over to her.

Harry laid a careful eye over her hands. "You need to get to Madame Pomfrey. Neville, can you-?"

"Harry, stop," through Hermione's command, Harry shut his mouth. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Hermione, the bones in your hands are broken in at least twelve different places. You can't use Disco Panic like that and you definitely can't hold your wand."

"You think I don't know that?" Hermione snapped, "I may not have my magic or my Stand ready, at the moment. But, last I checked, I was still smarter than the both of you. I'm still useful."

Harry wanted to argue, but he could see the fire in her eyes. That raw, unyielding determination that gave birth to Stand-Users everywhere.

Harry growled out his frustration, "Fine. But you will not be fighting, get me?"

Hermione scoffed, "Couldn't even if I wanted to."

"Yeah, I know. That's the only reason I'm letting you do this." Smooth Criminal dropped a potion bottle into Harry's open hand. "Here, drink up. One of those Pepper-Up potions, should numb the pain and keep you mobile until this is over."

Hermione allowed him to tip it back for her, but then she stopped. "You stole this. Didn't you?"

". . . Yes. But it's going to a good cause, isn't it?"

She scowled at him, but let it go. Her hands ached too much to raise much of a fuss. After drinking the potion, Hermione felt much better. The potion's warmth coursing through her, alleviating some of the pain. Enough that it was bearable.

After that, Harry led them to the next room. Hermione walked between him and a very-protective Neville. The next room was nothing but a wall of purple fire and a row of potions. Once they stepped into the room properly, a wall of black flames blocked their retreat.

"Guess turning back isn't an option anymore. . . Not that it was in the first place," Harry said. His attempt at a joke fell flat. He looked at the table where the potions sat and saw a scroll of paper. Harry unfurled it and skimmed the contents. "It's a riddle. . . Pretty sure this is more your speed, Hermione."

Harry held the scroll open for Hermione to see. Her eyes darted across the page. She looked between the bottles and the scroll several times. After a moment, Hermione made a sound of satisfaction in the back of her throat.

"Those three are poison, those two are wine. This one," she pointed to the far-right potion. "Will take Neville and me back. And this last one will take you forward. . ."

"Why are you talking like you're not coming with me?" Harry tried to hide it, but he stayed worried. "It'd be kinda anticlimactic if you convinced me to let you keep going. Only to turn tail the next second."

"I know that!" Hermione scowled before it simmered down to a grimace. "There's only enough for one person to advance forward. I can't fight and Neville doesn't have any more plants to use. You're the only who's capable of fighting right now. So, it needs to be you."

Harry looked at his other friend. Neville wasn't going to argue, Hermione was right, after all. Harry sighed and took the potion bottle; Hermione smiled.

"We'll take the other potion and head back. Maybe warn the professors before I can get my bloody hands fixed." Harry fake-gasped upon hearing Hermione curse. "Yes, laugh at my pain. Reminds me of primary."

Harry dropped the act for a moment. "Thank you, Hermione, I mean it."

"You're a prat, Harry, but you're like family. If it means helping you, then I'll do whatever I can." Hermione didn't blush or stammer, words coming straight from the heart.

"What she said," Neville added. He smiled, not needing to say much more than that.

Harry couldn't stop the heat rising to his cheeks. He hid his face with the brim of his hat. "Ah, knock it off, the both of ya. Keep talking like that and you'll make me think one of us is going to die."

"You better not die," Hermione scowled. "Otherwise, I'll find a way to bring you back so I can kill you myself!"

Harry grinned, "Now, that's more like it."

He picked up the vial and rolled it between his fingers. "See you, guys, on the other side, I guess. Or not, cause, you know, fire."

They rolled their eyes as Harry gulped down the bottle. A flash of ice surged through Harry's veins. It was so cold that Harry thought if he breathed it would come out white.

With a two-fingered salute, Harry walked back into the flames. They enveloped him, tickling his skin and warming his body.

Stepping out of the fire dropped Harry in a new chamber. Decorated with pillars and torches. Placed in the center of this room was a mirror. The same mirror Harry saw all those months ago. Standing in front of the mirror was a menacing figure. One Harry recognized for their turban-wrapped head.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

Standing across from him was none other than Professor Quirrell. The man in question spun around when he heard Harry speak.

"Ah yes, Mister Potter, how nice to see you." Quirrell's stutter had vanished into thin air. His voice sounded smooth and calming; like a snake in the middle of a hunt. "I must admit that I hoped you'd be the one to find me."

"You're the enemy Stand-User, are you kidding me?" Harry started to pace the room. Irritation filling his mind. "I thought I wrote you off after the Quidditch Field thing."

"You're little test using your Stand, yes, I remember." Quirrell smirked, "This body is not mine, but I can force it to do whatever I wish."

"Not your body?" Harry's face twisted with confusion, "Who are you?"

Quirrell frowned, "You haven't figured it out? Now that is disappointing, Mister Potter. After all, we share such a grand connection!"

"Quit the monologuing and answer my question!"

"Eleven years ago, I visited a little cottage in Godric's Hollow. I was searching for a certain family that had evaded me. I found them and killed the mother and father. I still remember how they fell to the ground after I killed them. Puppets with their strings cut. But, their child managed to do the impossible. He killed me! Of course, I survived, but I've still yet to figure out how it happened. . ."

The pieces started coming together for Harry. His eye's widened as he saw the bigger picture start to form. 

"I wandered the Earth as a wraith, nothing but a soul without a body. Imagine my surprise, when seven years later, I awoke to a new power." Harry's heart stopped in his chest. "Yes, I can see your face, Potter. You know the power I speak of. The power that links a half-blood whelp like you and me, the great Dark Lord Voldemort!"

" **[Smooth Criminal]**!" The silver and green Stand burst forward. Fists pulled back to protects its master.

" **[Master of Puppets]**. . ."

Harry froze in place. Strings wrapped tight around his Stand, ceasing its movement altogether. Stopped by the Stand of the man standing across from him.

Voldemort's Stand didn't look right. . .

A body wrapped up in black smoke that made it look more like a ghost then most Stands did. Half-formed, with no legs to support its body. Only a shimmering haze where they should have been. Strings wrapped tight around its hands. While several dozens of pins stuck out of its shoulders.

The worst of it was its face. White face-paint in the shape of a skull with no jaw. And red eyes that sent endless shivers down Harry's spine.

"As much as I'd like to fight you, there is something I need."

His features darkened as the turban unwrapped around his head. With the cloth gone, Quirrell's neck wretched to the side with a sickening crack. Quirrell's head turned a full one-eighty and from there, Harry saw a second face. A face that looked like someone flattened it with an iron.

"Ah, it is so much better to be able to speak with this face. Now, come here."

Harry's body walked forward, step by step. Against his will, he walked up to Voldemort and stared into the mirror.

"The stone is hidden in this mirror. Without it, Quirrell's body will rot and I'll have to search anew. I've been unable to retrieve the stone, but I'm sure your Stand will be able. So, steal the stone and give it to me."

Harry growled through grit teeth, "Bite. Me."

He actually laughed at that. "Oh, I don't need your permission, Potter. All I need from you is your hair. Then, my Stand, Master of Puppets, can turn you into my faithful servant under my direct control. You're familiar with this method, aren't you? With the trolls?"

Harry's mind raced into overdrive. If Quirrell, or Voldemort, managed to control his mind. Then, the entire Wizarding World was screwed.

Harry knew better than anyone how easy his Stand could maim or kill someone. Plus, he could disarm all of Wizarding kind with nothing more than a punch. Add Voldemort's ability to control minds like puppets and. . . Well, bad things would happen.

" **[Leper Messiah]** is what I call this puppet," Voldemort said as he reached for Harry's head. "I can only control one of them at a time. But, for now, that is all I need. . ."

Harry continued to struggle but found the effort useless. He roared to the heavens as Voldemort's fingers inched closer and closer. But, something happened when Voldemort touched him.

"What is this!?" He hissed.

The Dark Lord's concentration slipped and Harry broke free. He spun around and saw Voldemort's fingers starting to crumble into dust.

" **[Master of Puppets]**!" Before the crumbling could spread, strings wrapped around his wrist. They ripped Voldemort's hand off in a single, quick motion.

There was barely a drop of blood off the wound. Leaving Harry to wonder how long it'd been since Quirrell died. Regardless of that, the Dark Lord didn't appear to be out of breath at all.

"I don't know what kind of magic that was. But, I will have that stone, Potter!"

Confidence restored, Harry smirked, "Really? Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you can't touch a hair on my head."

Voldemort scowled for a moment. Then, it disappeared and a sinister smile overtook his face. "Yes, but I can touch your Stand; [Master of Puppets]!"

With its one hand, Voldemort's Stand started throwing pins. Harry knew that if any of those even touched him, Voldemort would have control over him. Which is why he couldn't let that happen.

" **Tor-RuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRu**!"

Over a dozen silver pins rested between Smooth Criminal's fingers. Harry's Stand flicked his wrist and threw them away. They disappeared soon after landing.

When Harry refocused on Voldemort, a searing pain appeared on his forearm. Blood seeped from a fresh cut, dying his sleeve red. Master of Puppets was using its strings as a whip against him.

Another cut slashed across his chest before Harry could get his bearings. He growled and focused on Master of Puppets' wrist. Looking for that little flick- There!

Voldemort scowled as Smooth Criminal grabbed the strings out of the air. Wrapping them up tight in its fist to prevent further attacks.

Harry grinned, "Looks like you're out of options."

Voldemort snarled, "Not even close, boy!"

He started to reach into his sleeve, looking for Quirrell's wand. The body may be weak, but Voldemort could still manage an _Avada Kedavra_ or two. But, the Dark Lord Voldemort found no wand; nothing but cloth met his fingertips.

Harry whistled, bringing attention to the wand twirling between his fingers. "You looking for this? I grabbed it off you after your hand went all pie crust. Didn't even need my Stand for that. You're really open."

"Give it back, Potter!"

"You want it? Then take it!" Harry tossed the wand up to Smooth Criminal, who threw it like a dart.

The piece of wood pierced Voldemort's chest cavity, the tip poked out of his back. Once again, almost no blood dripped from the wound. Voldemort growled and tried to remove the wand from his chest. But, his body was weakening by the second. With one hand gone, the task was all but impossible.

"Potter!"

The young boy leisurely walked up to him, "Now, I may not have known my parents at all. But, you took them from me and I believe that scores need to be settled. So, take your beating like a good, little tyrant and die quietly."

"Pott-!"

" **[SMOOTH CRIMINAL]**!"

" **TOR-RURURURURURURURURURURURURURURURURU**! **TORU**! **TORU** , **TORU** , **TORU** , **TORU** , **TORU** , **TOR-RUUUUUUUUUU**!"

After the unyielding fury of Smooth Criminal's assault, Quirrell's body went flying. Covered in his own blood and unable to move a finger. But still, Voldemort continued to talk.

"You. . . Can't kill. . . Me, Potter. . ."

Harry's face went blank, "Just shut up and die already."

He sent his own fist flying into Voldemort's face, crushing his head into dust. The rest of the body soon followed, crumbling into a pile of dust. One that didn't talk, Harry made sure of that.

Harry huffed and gave his robes a pat down, "That was an ordeal. . ."

He turned around, towards the Mirror of Erised. Voldemort thought Harry could get the stone out of it. Smooth Criminal floated over, "Let's test that theory, shall we?"

" **Toru**!"

Green energy surrounded the mirror. Expanding out from where Smooth Criminal punched it. After a moment of silence, a bright-red stone dropped into Harry's hand.

He grinned, "Still got it."

"Potter!"

Harry spun around. Surprise flashed over his face as smoke rose from Quirrell's body. Forming Voldemort's flattened face. Smooth Criminal moved into combat mode.

With another scream of rage, that sounded a lot like 'Potter', the wraith shot forward.

" **[Smooth Criminal]**!" Harry's Stand charged, fist already mid-punch.

But, to Harry's shock, the punch went straight through. The mass of smoke reformed past the Stand and slammed into Harry. His forehead burned and itched far more than it usually did. Even with his high pain-tolerance, Harry was starting to black out from the agony.

Smooth Criminal disappeared. His user's mind in turmoil making it impossible to stay manifested. The last thing Harry saw was Professor Dumbledore making his way towards him. And then, nothing but black.

****

**-OK-**

**Stand Name: Master of Puppets**

**Stand User: Lord Voldemort**

**Namesake: Master of Puppets by Metallica(Song/Album)**

**Destructive Power: A**

**Speed: B**

**Range: E**

**Durability: B**

**Developmental Potential: C**

**Puppetry: Master of Puppet's greatest ability is to create puppets. It has a variety of puppets and puppet-themed abilities, such as:** **Disposable Heroes - The Silver Pins on its shoulders, when stuck into something or someone will allow Voldemort to issue a single command to it. It will follow this command until the pin is removed or Voldemort's concentration falters.** **Sanitarium - The tips of Master of Puppets' fingers produce strings. Strings that are sharp as knives and durable as Acromantula Silk.** **Leper Messiah - By taking a few hairs from the target, Master of Puppets can create a doll. This doll will control every move the target makes and every word that comes out of their mouth.** **Note: Although the Stand's range is only an Rank-E, the puppets it creates have no limit to how far away they can be while still functioning.**

**Also Known As: Master of Puppets is pulling your strings**

**Also Known As: Control Freak Ex Machina**


	14. Za Endo... For now

During his time at Hogwarts, Harry learned something very important. That while magic could heal almost any injury in a matter of seconds. The aches and pains would remain for a very long time.

So when Harry woke up in the hospital wing feeling like garbage on a hot summer's day, he was not surprised. But, what did surprise him was the visitor that was beside him when he woke up.

"What, in God's name, are you doing here?" He asked the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, himself. The raging headache and sheer oddity of the situation threw formality out the window.

"I wanted to make sure you weren't alone when you woke, Mister Potter." A silver-tongue would be an insult, gold describes the Hogwarts Headmaster best. Harry could lie to the best of them, but Dumbledore sent off many warnings in his mind.

Harry glared, "Where are Neville and Hermione?"

"Miss Granger and Mister Longbottom are safe. Madame Pomfrey treated their injuries before calling for me. Which is how I found you."

Something about that explanation didn't sound right, but he couldn't understand why. Harry tucked it into the corner of his mind for later. "What about the stone?"

"It has been destroyed."

Harry cursed, he must've forgotten to stow it away in Smooth Criminal before he blacked out. All that gold, gone in the wind. And though Harry kept his expression placid, Dumbledore must've seen something.

"Do not worry, Mister Potter, Mister and Misses Flamel have plenty of elixir left to sort out their affairs." Harry tried to smile, hoping to fool the Headmaster. "Now that I've answered some of your questions. I was hoping you'd answer some of mine."

Harry's guard shot up, "That seems fair, Sir."

"Excellent," his eyes twinkled. "Let's start with Professor Quirrell. What happened to him?"

Harry froze, but only for a second. "I don't know, Professor. When I found him down there, he had a face on the back of his head. He said he was You-Know-Who, but he's supposed to be dead, right, Professor?"

"There are many things that are possible with the right kind of magic, Mister Potter. What happened next?"

"Well, he tried to make me get the stone for him, but I said no. After that, he tried to grab me which is when he started turning into dust. Then his soul or whatever slammed into me and I blacked out."

"I see."

"What's going on, Professor? Why did that happen when I touched Professor Quirrell?" Harry wasn't acting anymore with that question.

Dumbledore paused for a moment. "When Voldemort tried to kill you all those years ago, your mother sacrificed herself to save you. That sacrifice brought out a very powerful magic. One that could stop the killing curse from ending your life. That power was love."

"Love, Sir?" Harry tried to force down the urge to vomit.

"Yes, love is one of the most powerful magics in the world. And it is something Voldemort lacks. Should he come back again, love will be the key in defeating him. . . Unless, of course, you think differently, Mister Potter?"

Harry's blood froze in his veins. That look in the headmaster's eye; that little, knowing twinkle. He knew. Harry didn't know how much he knew, but Harry knew the Dumbledore knows about Stands.

He decided to err on the side of caution and act stupid. "No, I don't have any idea, Professor. Why do you ask?"

The headmaster stared for a moment, not blinking or speaking as he stared into Harry's eyes. Then, the serious moment faded and the headmaster was back to normal. "No reason. I hope you feel better soon, Mister Potter."

Harry didn't take his eyes off Dumbledore, not until he left the hospital wing. Once the doors shut behind him, Harry left out a large sigh and collapsed onto his cot.

"A decade of putting up walls and that man sends them crumbling down with a single conversation. . ."

Pomfrey came over not long after the headmaster left. Cast some spells and changed his bandages; ignoring his head after trying one too many times. And, not long after that, Harry's accomplices showed up.

"Harry!"

The two of them flocked to Harry's bed, worry, plain to see on their faces. Harry tried calming their nerves, saying that none of his injuries were serious. They didn't believe him, but he tried. There was one other thing he needed to address.

"How are you, Hermione?" He asked, eyeing her bandaged hands.

"Madame Pomfrey fixed most of the damage. These are just to make sure I don't aggravate my injuries. And for any residual pain, I may have." Hermione smirked, "Draco wanted to be here. But, he couldn't think of an excuse to drop by. So, he asked me to tell you that he's glad you're okay."

Harry laughed and reminded himself to do something nice for Draco.

"By the way, Harry," Neville spoke up. "What happened down there? You know after we left?"

Harry told them everything. From walking through the fire and the flames to facing off against Voldemort at the end. Each of them had a. . . Unique reaction, to say the least.

"Oh god, I've been taking lessons from You-Know-Who this year!"

"I can't believe it was a teacher the whole time. . ."

Harry expected both of those reactions if he were being honest.

"Look, the important thing is that he's gone. So, no more Stand-related hi-jinks, mayhem, or tomfoolery for a long while. . . probably."

After that, the trio of first-years acted their age for the first time in a long time. Making jokes, talking about classes, and enjoying themselves as children should. Of course, it ended once Hermione realized they still had end-of-the-year exams to study for. Hermione dragged Neville out of the hospital wing while promising to bring Harry notes.

Surprisingly, they weren't Harry's last visitors of the day. That honor went to a girl Harry had never even met before. A seventh-year Hufflepuff, by the looks of her, with bright purple hair and a carefree smile.

She plopped down next to Harry's bed; sitting backward in her chair. "Oi, you Harry Potter?"

Harry tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice as he answered, "Yes, and you are?"

"Well, I'm your cousin!" Harry's eyebrow rose, she laughed. "Eh, third cousins, once or twice removed. But, it still counts! Name's Tonks."

"Can I ask why you decided to visit now of all times?"

"Haven't had the time. Being a seventh year is hard, ya know?" She pouts before the smile returns in full. "Heard you were holed up in this place, so I decided to drop by. Wanted to ask what your favorite part of Hogwarts was so far?"

What Harry wanted to say was: My classes are pretty fun, I guess. But, what came out was. . .

"I could rob this whole school and you lot would never even know."

When Harry realized what he was saying, his heart stopped. It didn't help that Tonks acted like he was chatting with her about the weather.

"Hmm, I didn't expect that to be honest. But, I guess it makes sense," Tonks grinned. An orange glow lighting up across her body. "Given the name of your Stand."

Before Harry could summon Smooth Criminal, Tonks asked another question.

"Why do you wear that hat all the time?"

Harry didn't want to answer that. He's never wanted to answer that question. Not since he started wearing the hat four years ago. He begged that whatever came out of his mouth next wouldn't be the truth. But-

"It hides my scars."

It was.

You could hear a pin drop in that room. When Harry again realized what he'd said, his expression shifted. Shock to despair, before settling on murderous rage. Meanwhile, Tonks seemed to realize the error of her ways.

"I crossed a line just now, didn't I?"

"Yes. You did. **[Smooth Criminal]**!" Harry's Stand appeared with its fist mid-punch. Fury blazing like a fire in its one eye.

" **TORU**!"

" _Protego_!" Tonks' wand appeared in her hand as the witch cast her spell. Covering her in a shimmering blue dome. Smooth Criminal's fist smashed against the barrier. Sending cracks rippling through it, but not breaking it.

She looked guilty, very guilty. Which was probably the only thing stopping Harry from beating her into a bloody pulp. "I'm sorry, Harry, I went too far."

Madame Pomfrey stopped Harry from responding. "What is going on here? Miss Tonks, if you are planning on aggravating my patients any further, then I'll have to ask you to leave immediately!"

"Yeah, that's fair," Tonks spun on her heel and walked out the door without a sound.

Harry didn't rest well that day. His head wouldn't stop replaying that event, over and over again. He could see the glow of her Stand, but couldn't see the Stand itself. No matter how many times he replayed it, Harry couldn't remember seeing Tonks' Stand.

He was released from the hospital wing in time for the end of the year exams. They were far from the hardest tests he'd ever taken. Harry couldn't understand why Hermione got so worked up over them.

After that was the end of the year feast. Harry didn't enjoy the festivities very much. Too busy trying to find a head of purple hair at the Hufflepuff table. 

He only stopped when the Gryffindors started celebrating. They'd stolen the house cup from Slytherin. Harry grinned in Draco's direction when he realized that.

Draco didn't appreciate that gesture. Neither did any of the other Slytherins that saw him. They booed and threw food, none of which touched a hair of Harry's head.

Harry laughed, dodging their delicious projectiles with ease. After that, he decided to drop the issue of Tonks and enjoy the feast with his friends.

Soon enough, it was time for them to leave Hogwarts for the summer. All their bags were packed and they were about to board the train.

Hagrid stopped Harry before he could board, so he could give him a photo album. One filled with pictures of Harry's parents. Even Harry's criminal hardened soul burst into tears because of that gesture.

Harry made sure to give Hagrid an extra-long, Hermione-esque hug before he left. He also promised that if anyone tried taking his new treasure, then they would get a personal visit from Smooth Criminal.

Once all three of them found a compartment, Hermione posed a simple question.

"What do we do now?"

"What do you mean?" Neville asked as Fall Out Boy hovered around his head.

"What do we do this summer, with our Stands?"

"Keep training, don't stop until you know everything there is to know about your Stand," Harry said. He looked each of them in the eye. "The most important thing for any Stand-User is knowledge. Knowing the strengths and limits of your Stand. The most-powerful Stand in the world would be useless in front of a weak Stand that knew what it was doing. . . And make sure you keep your guard up."

"Do you think we're going to get attacked in our own homes?" Hermione worried less for herself and more for her Magic-less and Stand-less parents.

"No, I'm just saying you should keep an eye out," he said. "Wizards aren't the only ones who can be Stand-Users. Found that out the hard way. . ."

"You've met other Stand-Users before?" Neville asked.

A fond smile spread across Harry's face. "Yeah, a few. Let's just say I tried pick-pocketing the wrong person. . . Once or twice."

Hermione groaned, "Of course you did. . . Who was it?"

"No one you know," she opened her mouth to start arguing, but then Harry shook his head and grinned. "Come on, I've got to keep some secrets."

Hermione huffed but decided to drop the subject.

Draco came by a while later, lackeys in tow. He some minor mocking towards Harry and his friends. But, as he was leaving, Draco dropped a note. A note saying that he was Harry was okay and that he hoped they all had a good summer.

"Poor, shy little Draco," Harry said. Neville snorted and Hermione tried to smother a snicker. If the Slytherin in question heard any of that, he would've sent his Stand after them.

The rest of their train ride was spent making small talk and cracking jokes. They arrived at King's Cross Station after a four-hour journey.

Harry stayed around to see his friends off. Neville's grandmother was a bit. . . extreme, to say the least. But, she was very grateful towards Harry for being Neville's friend. The small bow she did erased any thoughts Harry had of pick-pocketing her. . . Plus, she scared him, like, a lot.

Now, Hermione's parents were very friendly and much more laid back. They also had good taste in music, if Dan's Queen t-shirt was any sign. Then again, who doesn't like Queen?

Harry stayed around a while longer. Telling stories of Hogwarts and one of Hermione running face first into a bookshelf during exam times. Which had her parents laughing and Hermione growling.

Harry checked the time and realized he needed to go.

"Do you need a ride, Harry?" Emma asked, maternal instinct in overdrive.

Harry smiled, teeth flashing in the light, "I'm fine. Where I'm going isn't too far from here."

"Okay then, well, it was a pleasure meeting you!"

Before she left, Hermione ran up and hugged Harry with all her might. Which turned out to be a lot of might for an eleven-year-old girl. "Have a great summer, Harry."

Harry hugged her back, "You too, Hermione."

Their embrace ended and they went their separate ways. Harry waited until the Granger family was out of sight before he stowed away his luggage with Smooth Criminal.

After that, Harry got on a bus and headed towards the docks. By the time he got there, the sun was starting to set and his stomach howled for food.

He looked around the wharf, there weren't a lot of people around. Not many civilians anyway, lot of sailors though. Harry didn't steal from sailors, too many risks. But, there was one person. Some American, Indian Jones-Knockoff; sitting at a bench with a cane between his legs.

Harry smirked; an easy target. He shoved his hands into his pockets and ambled over. Trying to look as casual as possible. The moment he passed behind the old man, Harry's hand flashed green and then he was holding a wallet and a watch.

Harry started to walk away, grin shining on his face. Before he could take another step, his body froze. He looked down and saw purples vines wrapped around every inch of his body.

The old man stood up from the bench. Walking over to Harry, a menacing look in his eyes. "Is that any way to say hello to an old friend, Harry?"

"Only way I know how," Harry said.

A moment passed with neither of them saying a word. Then, the old man's façade cracked and he started laughing. The vines disappeared from around Harry's body as he smiled.

"It's nice to see you too, Old Man."

He pouted, "Come on, why you gotta call me that? You've been spending too much time around Jotaro!"

Harry laughed, "Is he around?"

"On his honeymoon actually," Joseph smirked as Harry squeaked in surprise.

"Seriously!? Mister tall and scary got married? We are talking about the guy who enjoyed trips to the aquarium more than I did, right?" After Harry lifted his jaw off the ground, he started cackling.

Joseph joined him, "How about I tell you about over dinner? Your grumbling stomach is what gave you away."

"That's fine with me," Harry grinned and flashed the old man's wallet. "But, you're paying."

Joseph started to grumble, "Using your Stand is cheating."

"Oi, you used yours to catch me."

He grumbled some more before he sighed, "Fine. But, you're telling me what you've been up to this past year, deal?"

Harry grinned and tossed Joseph his wallet, "Deal."


	15. Golden Second Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN made after watching Finale: Holy shit, it's finally over. . . I hope I can fufill your need for JoJo's until Stone Ocean is made in the far, far future.

The rare appearance of a London sunny day sent many people into a good mood. Children were running around the neighborhoods laughing and playing games. People set up barbecues and walked the streets without a care in the world.

Harry didn't mind the crowd. More people made his job a lot easier. Less of a chance to be seen and even less of a chance to get caught.

But, being a Smooth Criminal wasn't the first thing on his mind, for once. Instead, he was looking for a little suburb in Heathgate. The residence of one, Hermione Jane Granger, who Harry hadn't heard from in over a month.

Any other time, Harry would assume that she didn't want anything to do with him anymore and move on. But, she didn't seem like the type. Which is why Harry decided to check up on her.

Finding her home wasn't the most difficult thing in the world. First, he found the Granger's dental practice in the phone book. Then, Harry tailed their car on the way back home. . . Harry realizes how creepy that is, which is why he will never speak of it again. Ever.

Moving on, Harry knocked on the Granger's door. He didn't need to wait long before Emma Granger's smiling face greeted him.

"Oh, Harry! How nice to see you."

"It's nice to see you as well, Misses Granger. Is Hermione home?"

"Yes, actually, she is. Please, come in, I'll have her down in a second." Harry walked inside as Emma called for her daughter.

Harry wouldn't lie, the Grangers lived in a nice place. Pictures of happy memories lined the walls in every room. A record player sat on a table next to a very-nice record collection. Of course, Harry couldn't miss all the bookshelves and-

"Harry!"

And the sound of his ribs cracking like chicken bones under Hermione's grip, "Oh god-"

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Hermione said with a bucktooth smile.

"I could. . . Say the same. . . To you. Have mercy, please-" The last of it got squeezed out with the last of his oxygen.

Hermione let him go and Harry forced his lungs back into working order. Meanwhile, Hermione looked confused and a tad irritated.

"What do you mean?"

"Haven't heard from you all month. Got worried. That's why I dropped by, wanted to make sure you hadn't gotten yourself killed."

"Gotten _myself_ killed? Which one of us- No, that's not important right now. Harry, Neville, and I have been trying to contact you for weeks now. You haven't responded once!"

"I haven't gotten a single letter," Harry's eyes lit up. Smooth Criminal flickered in and out. "Is someone stealing from me?"

"Let's not jump to conclusions just yet!" Hermione tried to calm Harry down. She knew what happened when someone tried to steal from Harry Potter and it was never pretty. "How about Hedwig? Have you tried sending us any letters?"

Harry took a couple of deep breaths, "Once or twice. She always comes back with ruffled feathers though. Thought she just hated the long flights ."

Hermione shook her head. "Though normal owls don't fly far from their nests. Magical owls are bred to fly long distances. And they have a natural tracking ability that makes getting lost impossible."

Harry sighed before his body lit up green again. "So someone is stealing from me."

". . . That's very likely, yes."

Harry sneered at no one before he sighed again. The glow fading from his body, "Gonna deal with that later. How have you been?"

She was happy to tell him all about her summer thus far. The two of them talked for hours until Harry realized he needed to leave. Of course, Emma convinced him to stay for lunch.

After that, Harry left with a small smile on his face. Hermione would say that the big, bad thief had gone soft. He would deny that until his dying day, despite how true it was.

But, 'Soft' couldn't be farther from what Harry would do to the person stealing his mail. Nobody stole from Harry Potter. Nobody!

Harry stowed those murderous feelings away for later. He needed to take the bus back home and leaking those kinds of vibes would bring the wrong kind of attention.

He managed to calm himself down on the way back home. All the way back to Privet Drive.

Cookie-cutter houses as far as the eye could see. He found the set-up dreadfully boring, but it suited his purposes.

Taking the walk up to Number Four gave him the sight of Dudley Dursley hunched over some rose bushes. Sweat pouring down his face, dirt coating his hands. Harry snuck up behind him with a smirk.

"Smooth-"

"Not again!" Dudley yelped and jumped four feet off the ground. While Harry stood hunched over, cackling like a hyena. "Christ, Harry, every time!"

Harry helped him to his feet. "I'll stop doing it when you stop squealing."

"You know what? Come here, give me a hug!"

"What? No!" Dudley was covered in dirt and grime, while Harry was wearing nice clothes. Nice, clean clothes. Dudley started chasing Harry, while they both laughed their butts off. "Stop it, get away from me, ya prat!"

Dudley gave up after a few laps around the house. Sucking in deep breaths with his hands on his knees. "Nice to see ya, Harry. You wanna help me with all this?"

Harry grinned, "Why not? Doesn't look like you've got much left to do anyhow."

It turned out that Dudley possessed the greener thumbs out of the two of them. So, Harry's job always ended up being Dudley's muscle. The irony was not lost on him.

Dudley and Harry finished up in less than an hour. When they walked into the house properly, Dudley left to grab a shower. Once harry heard the water turn on, he walked into the kitchen.

Harry found his Aunt Petunia working stains out of dishes. He went around her and grabbed a cola from the fridge. The sound of the popping tab alerted Petunia to his presence.

She turned around, expecting to see her darling baby-boy or her beloved husband. Instead, she found emerald eyes shining with dark amusement. Petunia shrieked and dropped the pan she'd been cleaning in a splash of suds.

Harry laughed, he lived for those reactions. Petunia didn't appreciate it as much.

"Why are you here?" She hissed at him, "You found the rest of those- I mean, your kind. Why haven't you left for good? Left my perfectly normal family!"

Harry propped up the brim of his hat by a centimeter as he stared into Petunia's eyes. "I'll have to live with what you did to me for the rest of my life. The least you can do is live like I did for just a few more years. Afraid. Terrified that someone around you is going to snap and snuff you out like a candle."

Petunia didn't have anything to say and neither did Harry. He left the kitchen and retreated to his room. The little cupboard under the stairs. . . Or, at least, what used to be a cupboard.

After Smooth Criminal showed up, Harry paid to have a basement installed into Number Four. The process cost quite a pretty penny, but Harry had the cash.

The basement was where Harry stored part of his stolen goods. The big stuff that Smooth Criminal couldn't keep hidden up his sleeves

Harry sat in his favorite chair and brainstormed.

After hours of deliberation, and dinner, Harry decided on the direct route. He rolled his chair over to his desk and started to write.

_To the individual who is stealing my mail,_

_I'll commend you for getting away with stealing my mail for so long. It's not easy to get one over on someone like me. But, whatever you had planned for it, ends now. I know that my friends are safe and that they want to continue contacting me. So, knock. It. Off._

_I don't take kindly to being stolen from. But, if you appear before me and decide to explain yourself. Then, maybe I won't hunt you down like a dog and make you wish you were never born. If I like your answer, I'll let you go._

_Sincerely,_

_Harry James Potter_

Harry slipped the letter into an envelope and labeled it: 'To the one stealing my mail'. Then, he gave it to Hedwig and told her to fly towards Hermione's house. He hoped that they would take the bait and steal this letter like all the others.

Hedwig didn't look too happy about being told to willingly give up a letter. But, she would follow her human's instructions. . . In exchange for more bacon at a later date.

It didn't take long. An hour at most, before the thief popped into his room.

"Well. . . You're not what I expected at all."

A tiny little thing wearing a ratty pillowcase. Green, tennis ball-sized eyes and bat-like eyes. His hands were covered in bandages and they were also holding Harry's letters.

"Dobby is sorry, Mister Harry Potter!" Dobby started groveling at Harry's feet. Which is not the reaction Harry expected, whatsoever.

"Alright, this is just getting weird. . . Dobby, or whatever your name is, what are you and why are you stealing from me?"

"Dobby is a House Elf, sir." Harry filed that away to ask Hermione about later. "Mister Potter must not go to Hogwarts this year!"

"Oh?" Harry propped his head up with his arm, "Why's that, Dobby?"

"Dangerous things be coming to Hogwarts. . ." Dobby wouldn't meet Harry's gaze. "Dobby thought that if Mister Harry Potter's friends had abandoned him that maybe he wouldn't want to go to school."

"What's so dangerous at Hogwarts?"

Dobby shook his head so fast it looked like he was in a blender, "Dobby cannot say anything!"

Harry sighed, "Look, Dobby, it sounds like you had the best of intentions. But, you know what they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. So, I'd appreciate it, if you dropped this whole 'Hogwarts is dangerous' thing and leave me alone."

Smooth Criminal snatched the letters from Dobby's hands. The little elf looked down at his now-empty hands and jumped.

Harry expected a fight or some shouting. But, the Wizarding World rarely does what Harry expects it to do. Dobby started to bang his head against the wall, over and over again.

After the tenth hit, the shock faded, "Hey, Dobby, don't beat yourself up about it. . . Literally. Anyway, just don't do it again and we're square, 'kay?"

"Will Harry Potter return to school?"

"I'm having too much fun to stay away," Harry said.

Wrong thing to say as Dobby started having another meltdown. "No! No! No! NO! Mister Harry Potter will not be safe there! Dobby will protect Harry Potter!"

Dobby snapped his fingers. Now, Harry liked the little guy so far. But, when his hat started floating off his head, things got serious real fast.

Harry put his hand on top of his hat to stop it. At the same time, Smooth Criminal grabbed Dobby by his throat.

"You know, you've been talking an awful lot about how Hogwarts is dangerous and all that. But, I don't think you understand. Hogwarts isn't dangerous-" Harry's eyes stabbed into Dobby's soul. "I am."

Harry forced himself to take a few deep breaths and to let Dobby go. "Get out of here. Try and steal from me again and I won't be as kind."

Dobby disappeared with a pop and without a word. Once he was gone, Harry collapsed into his chair with a sigh.

"Something tells me this year's going to be more trouble than it's worth. . ."


	16. Lucius Malfoy's Stand

If you look at it diagonally, Diagon Alley is just a diagonal alley. An alley that was more packed than it usually was that time of year. To be specific, August, when all the Hogwarts students went to get their things for the school year.

After the mail mix-up, Harry started meeting with his two accomplices in person every week. Neville even managed to convince his grandmother to let him go into the Muggle world.

Anyway, that was hoe the three of them agreed to get their school things at the same time. Which, unfortunately, turned out to be the same day that a famous wizard decided to visit for a book signing.

"This crowd is ridiculous," Hermione said. The young witch was far from happy with how cluttered the inside of the book shop was.

"Speak for yourself, Hermione, I'm having a great time," Harry said as he polished the face of a golden pocket watch.

"Harry!" Hermione hissed, "Where did you get that from?"

"Some tosser who pushed a little girl out of the way to get in here." Harry scowled at it, "Tacky, blasted thing doesn't even work."

Harry handed it back to Smooth Criminal with a huff. While Neville watched the interaction with a smile. His friends were far from perfect, but he wouldn't take them any other way.

"Gilderoy Lockhart is supposed to be here," Neville said. "He's this wizard who's written a bunch of books about his adventures around the world. Gran thinks he's rubbish though."

"Well, I'm not going to argue with Lady Longbottom anytime soon," Harry said.

Hermione paused for a moment, "Aren't our DADA textbooks written by a Gilderoy Lockhart?"

". . . I can already tell that this year is gonna be trouble," Harry said with a heavy sigh. The trio tried making their way through the heavy crowds. But, they didn't make it far before someone latched onto Harry's arm, "What the-?"

The random person dragged Harry through the mound of people. Harry managed to break free as they escaped the mass of moving people. 

Harry scowled, looking to punch the guy who grabbed him. He saw the grinning man holding a camera and decided that was(probably) him.

"Harry Potter, well I'll be!" Harry turned around and saw a man wearing blue robes with the whitest teeth he'd ever seen. Not to mention blond hair with way too much gel in it.

This new guy threw his arm around Harry's shoulders and pulled him close. In that same moment, Harry stole his coin purse. A couple of galleons was the least he could do for grabbing Harry out of nowhere.

A flash went off in Harry's face which left him with stars in his eyes. His growing irritation made Harry deaf to whatever the prat next to him was saying. But, there was one thing that broke through the haze.

"How about another picture then? Lose the hat this time, maybe?"

The instant Lockhart's fingers touched Harry's hat, there was a flash of green. Then, Lockhart went flying with several of his oh-so-perfect teeth broken or missing.

The crowd started to panic with several adult witches screaming Lockhart's name. But, because Harry used his Stand no one realized he was the one who assaulted Lockhart. Which gave him plenty of time to leave undetected and return to his friends.

"Was that really necessary?" Hermione asked.

Harry looked off to the side and scowled, "He tried to take my hat."

"Regardless, maybe you should've held back a little? Now things are going to be awkward when we go back to Hogwarts."

"What?"

"You were right next to him, didn't you hear? That was Gilderoy Lockhart you just punched. He's going to be our next Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor." Hermione's eyes shined with pleasure.

Harry groaned while Neville showed a nervous smile as he patted Harry on the back.

The three of them paid for their books then exited Flourish & Blotts to find the rest of their school things. Only to walk right in the middle of a bout of fisticuffs between Arthur Weasley and Lucius Malfoy.

They tried getting a closer look, but they were stopped by their secret friend, Draco.

"Watch it, Potter! Don't go sticking your big head into my father's business just because someone like Lockhart's taken a shine to you!" The menacing sneer didn't reach Draco's eyes at all. Not with how they kept glancing down at the piece of parchment sticking out of his pocket. "You better watch yourself, Potter, before you get hurt. . ."

As Draco shoved himself past, Harry snagged the parchment with a deft hand.

Harry flipped open the note and started to read with Neville and Hermione over his shoulders.

' _Father is planning something. He kicked me out of the study and removed something. I couldn't see what it was, but the air changed once it was gone. I think whatever it was, gave me my Stand. Something tells me he plans on sending it to Hogwarts, so be on the lookout! Get rid of this note the instant you finish reading it._ '

Harry crumpled up the note and stowed it away with Smooth Criminal.

"What do you think he's trying to do?" Hermione asked, glancing at Lucius out the corner of her eye.

"Make new Stand-Users?" Neville suggested, "If whatever it is, really did give Draco his Stand, then it can probably make new ones."

"To what end though? I mean, just making new Stand-Users doesn't help him very much. We don't even know if he knows it makes Stand-Users!"

"Why don't we just ask him?" Neville and Hermione looked back at Harry. "I'll flash Smooth Criminal a little, steal his wand, then throw a punch. We'll see how he reacts and we'll know what he knows."

"And what if he does have a Stand?" Neville asked.

"Three v one, that's pretty good odds, I'd say."

"We don't even know what his Stand does or if he even has one! Your plan has too many holes, Harry, I don't-"

"Uh, Hermione?" Neville grabbed their attention as he looked over their heads with wide eyes. "I think we're about to find out. . ."

Hermione and Harry spun around. While they were talking, someone had broken up the fight between Arthur and Lucius. It'd died down to very angry shouting with some minor name-calling. But, as the confrontation came to an end, Lucius was surrounded by a sickly-green glow.

Despite the crowd and space between them, the three of them could hear Lucius' next words clear as day.

" **[Mad World]**."

A body made of green and black tendrils that writhed under its skin like dozens of snakes. Its face was shrouded in darkness save for the single yellow circle acting as its eye. Dreadlocks covered the rest of its face, each one tipped with a spear-like point.

As Lucius turned around, one of the dreads stabbed Arthur's throat. Harry and the others couldn't react in time. All they could do was watch as the Stand's hair returned without the point.

Whatever effect it had spread fast. Veins bulged out across Arthur's skin and his eyes popped out of his skull, both turning a sickly-green.

Arthur screamed in pain, clawing at his face, drawing blood and the concern of his wife and children. It was only when Arthur stopped screaming did Molly think it safe to approach him.

"Arthur, dear, are you alright?" He didn't react well to the question. His hand flew out and backhanded her, sending Molly Weasley flying.

The youngest Weasleys swarmed their mother, asking if she was okay. While Percy and the twins confronted their father.

"Dad, what's wrong with you?" His Quidditch training is the only thing that saved George from getting punched.

After that, Percy pulled out his wand, "That's enough! I'm sorry, dad, but _Stupefy_!"

The red spell splashed against Arthur's skin. But, much to Percy's surprise, he didn't falter for a moment. Arthur caught Percy's cheek and sent him flying.

"We have to help!" Hermione shouted amidst the fleeing crowd.

"What about Malfoy?"

Neville scanned the crowd, then pointed, "He's over there!"

Harry came to a decision and turned to his companions. "You two, go after Malfoy, I'll take care of Arthur."

Neville and Hermione mulled it over for a moment then nodded, "Alright!"

As they chased after Lucius, Harry walked up to Arthur without fear.

Harry whistled drawing Arthur's attention. He grinned and jutted his chin out, "Oi, Arthur, you wanna piece of me?"

Arthur roared in his mindless rage and lunged. Harry waited until their faces were a centimeter apart and then-

" **[Smooth Criminal]**!"

His Stand appeared and punched Arthur in the face. Harry looked at his open palm and saw a bloody tooth.

"Not exactly what I was hoping to take." Arthur stood back up, looking even more crazed. "I figure if I can dig out whatever Malfoy stuck in you, you'll go back to normal. . . There's margin for error though."

Arthur charged again as Smooth Criminal prepared to defend its user. What neither User nor Stand expected was for Arthur to go after Smooth Criminal directly.

Harry was so surprised that he couldn't get Smooth Criminal to defend in time. He took a punch to the gut, fell to the ground, and started to vomit.

"Should've. . . Should've known you'd be able to see Smooth Criminal. Oh god. . . Yep, that's my bad." Harry spit out a little blood with the last of his lunch.

As Arthur stood over the fallen Stand-User, stream and drool seeping from the corners of his mouth, Harry saw it. Writhing under Arthur's skin was Mad World's infection. The green veins spread out from that point, right under his chin.

"There, **[Smooth Criminal]**!" Harry said.

Smooth Criminal appeared as Arthur threw a punch at Harry. Thankfully, Harry's Stand moved faster than Arthur's fist. It punched the source of his insanity before it could scurry away.

Arthur crumpled like a cheap suit and Harry could feel the infection point squirming in his hand. It was trying to burrow into his skin and take over. Harry growled and threw it sky-high.

" **[Smooth Criminal]**!"

" **Tor-RuRuRuRuRuRuRu**!"

The Stand's rapid-fire punches destroyed Mad World's infection without a trace. Harry stood up, holding a hand to his stomach.

"Why do I keep getting punched in the stomach?" Harry groaned and walked in the direction his friends went. "I need to look into getting a bulletproof vest or something. Hell, I'd take Adamantium bones at this point. . ."

Not that he noticed or even cared, but more than a few people noticed what Harry did. Whether it be the two ginger twins smirking like Christmas just came or their little brother. Whose flickering red aura suggested an awakening in the near future.

****

**-OK-**

Hermione and Neville almost got trampled in the ensuing chaos. Wizarding folk weren't the bravest bunch. When the topic of fight or flight came up, flight is usually the answer.

Regardless, they managed to follow Lucius Malfoy as he turned down a dark alley off Diagon Alley. Which acted as a bridge to Knockturn Alley. Alley alley oxen free.

Neville, being the least out of breath, shouted, "Stop!" At Lucius.

The elder Malfoy turned around and sneered, "What do you want, boy? I have things to do."

"We want you to stop what you've done to Mr. Weasley!" Hermione shouted.

"And what makes you think I've done anything?" Each word spoken in Hermione's direction had enough venom to melt a school bus.

Not that Hermione was fazed. She and Neville summoned their Stands without a word between them. The effect it had on Lucius was instant. His eyes narrowed and his face darkened. Filled with emotion that "loathing" could not begin to describe.

"To think, a Mudblood and a Squib would develop the same power that I have." Lucius lifted his head, the same time that his body glowed green. "You must think you have me cornered, don't you? But, now that you know my secret, I can't allow you to live. No one will question it if a Mudblood goes mad and kills the scion to a Pure Blood family. I'll make sure of that. . . Go, **[Mad World]**!"

Lucius' Stand appeared and sent out several of its dreadlocks. Flying through the air like knives.

" **[Fall Out Boy]**!"

The little rocket shot towards the ground and exploded. In a matter of seconds, a giant hedge grew and separated Lucius from the others. Mad World's tendrils were lost in the brush.

Lucius growled, feeling through his Stand that his attack had not hit its mark. He kept his body tense, looking around for any sort of attack.

Two purple orbs flew past his head. He spun around but couldn't dodge the two Panic Spheres slamming into his torso.

Three of his ribs and his left hip bone shattered on impact. Lucius fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

Behind him, the hedge shrank and disappeared as Hermione and Neville walked up to him.

"Call back your Stand! Now!" Even at age twelve, Hermione was a force to be reckoned with. Lucius could see a fire burning in her eyes. A fire that he didn't even see in adult pureblood wizards.

But, it was a cold day in hell before Lucius would submit to muggle spawn. He pulled out his wand and pointed it in her face, " _Avada_ -!"

" **[Disco Panic]**!" A Panic Sphere shot out and shattered Lucius' wrist. He screaming while Hermione's eyes shined with cold fury. "Do. It."

"Little Mudblood tart-" Disco Panic reared her arm back and Lucius recoiled. "It's- It's already gone!"

Hermione looked over to Neville. They shared a silent conversation; Harry must've come through on his end.

While they were distracted, Lucius grabbed his wand in his off-hand. Neville noticed and tried to send his Stand after him. But, before Fall Out Boy could detonate, Lucius disappeared with a loud crack.

"What happened? Where did he go?" Hermione looked around, desperation shining in her eyes. Disco Panic also looked agitated, to say the least.

Neville groaned, "He must have Apparated. I should've guessed he'd try and do that; this is all my fault. . ."

"No, it's mine, I should've kept an eye on him," Hermione glared at her feet. She vowed to research Apparating the first chance she got.

"You guys lose him?" Harry hobbled into the alley.

"He Apparated," Neville said. "We didn't get to ask him about the whatever-it-was either."

Harry sighed, "Well, I think Arthur's going to be fine. He fell asleep right after I got rid of Lucius' little infection. So, not a total loss."

"But, we still don't what he's planning!" Hermione said, "Not even Draco knows!"

"We just need to prepare for whatever the future has in store for us. . . So we can kick its ass when it comes for us."

Undoubtedly an odd and quite crass thing to say. But, it did wonders to lift their spirits. Because Harry was right, they needed to prepare for what came next. It was all they could do. But, sometimes. . .

It's not enough.

****

**-OK-**

**Stand Name: Mad World**

**Stand User: Lucius Malfoy**

**Namesake: Mad World by Gary Jules**

**Destructive Power: D**

**Speed: B**

**Range: C**

**Durability: D**

**Precision: A**

**Developmental Potential: D**

**Insanity: Whatever Mad World sticks the points at the end of its deadlocks into will go insane. They lose all sense and become lost in an endless sea of madness. They can't use spells, but they do become stronger, faster, and more resistant to magic.**

**Also Known As: The Crazies, directed by Breck Eisner**

**Also Known As: Don't stick your dick in crazy**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never actually seen The Crazies, but I have seen the trailer and I know Mad World plays at the end of it. And if anyone's curious about Mad World's design. Just imagine what Ben's skin looks like when he turns into Four-Arms and make it green.


	17. Chapter 17

"The Hogwarts Express, how brilliantly does it gleam. It leads to a place most amazing, but at the same time, not what it seems. Crimson red is the metal that coats it, coal burns in the metal heart that moves it. So forth-!"

"Harry!"

The hat-wearing Stand-User turns around, "Yes, Hermione?"

"What, in Merlin's name, are you doing?"

"Waiting for you lot, I was getting bored," Harry said. As he nodded in greeting to Neville and Hermione.

"So you just start reciting poetry?"

"Like I said, I was getting bored. Come on, the train's on its way out soon enough."

The three of them found a compartment and stowed their stuff away. Hermione immediately started to gush about Lockhart's books. Saying how amazing they were and how Lockhart is such an amazing wizard.

"Yes, the great and powerful Lockhart," Harry said. "Going down in a single punch is a noteworthy feat."

"Well it's not like Lockhart is a Stand-User, Harry," Hermione argued. "You can't fight against something that you can't see, hear, or touch. Honestly, Harry."

"Yes, Harry, honestly," Neville said with his face buried in a gardening book. 

Harry clicked his tongue at him and Neville smirked. Smooth Criminal handed Harry a cola that he downed half of in one gulp. A sigh of relief left his mouth and Harry felt much better.

With Lockhart no longer a conversation topic, the trio went back to doing what they usually did. Harry would stare out the window, watching the scenery go by. Hermione would bring up something she read. Which would, in turn, draw Harry into a conversation/argument. Neville would add his two cents every once in a while, but tended to sit and watch.

After they reached the halfway point, someone walked into their compartment. Not any of the usual suspects either, which was odd. Not Draco stopping by to check-up/"bully" them. Not even Ron coming to accuse them of being evil.

Instead, it turned out to be a little girl. A girl with pale blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and radishes hanging from her earrings.

"Excuse me, may I sit with you?" She asked dreamily.

Harry looked to his friends, they shrugged. He smiled at the girl and patted the seat next to him, "Take a seat. I'm Harry, that's Hermione and Neville."

"Pleasure," Hermione said.

"Nice to meet you," Neville smiled, trying to look welcoming.

"Luna Lovegood," she said whilst sitting down. "I had to move compartments because there were too many nargles in the other one."

"Pardon?" Hermione's brow scrunched up.

"Nargles are little flying things that float around people's heads. They make your brain go all fuzzy and they like to steal things." Before Hermione could touch on that, Luna jumped to a new topic. "Is your drink empty?"

"Huh?" Harry looked at the can, "I guess so, why?"

Luna smiled and reached for Harry's drink. The instant her fingers touched the cool metal, they glowed bright yellow. In a matter of moments, the can refilled itself to the brim with bubbling liquid. As Luna took her hand away, the ghostly image of a yellow arm made of metal faded away.

Neville and Hermione summoned their Stands instantly. Disco Panic and Fall Out Boy appeared with weapons barred. Smooth Criminal showed up too, but he wasn't as tense as the others appeared to be.

Luna didn't look worried either, "Oh, you have one as well?"

"Why are you here?" Hermione asked as DP reared back an arm.

"Easy, guys," Harry said. "I don't think she's here to fight."

Luna smiled as though she lived in the middle of a dream, without care. Neville backed down first; FOB whizzed around his head. Hermione took longer, but Harry's subtle glare pushed the issue.

Harry turned to their new friend, "That power. How did you get it?"

"I was born with him. His name is **[Yellow Submarine]** ," Luna's body started to glow again.

Her Stand appeared fully-formed this time and Harry found her choice in name to be very accurate. Seeing as her Stand was a literal yellow submarine with dinky little arms and legs.

"My mother named him when I was little. She said he reminded her of some species of Muggle insect." Luna smiled again, but Harry could tell it was distant.

"Your mother could see your Stand? Did she also have one?"

"Oh, is that what they're called? I was going to use the name Blibbering Humdinger, but I suppose Stand works too." Hermione looked about one second away from strangling her.

"Was that your Stand Ability?" Harry resolved to do something nice for his friends. Neville taking over the conversation was a godsend. Because hostile or not, Hermione looked ready to throw down.

Luna tilted her head, "Hmm?"

"What you did Harry's drink. Was that Yellow Submarine's special ability?"

"Yes, it was," Luna smiled again. Then, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a box of Bertie Bott's. "Would you like one?"

Harry peered into the box and saw a single jelly bean sitting inside. He decided to roll with it, "Sure, I'll take one."

Her Stand appeared again and tapped the box. It refilled the same way his drink had. Harry picked out a green one and popped it in his mouth. Happy to find watermelon instead of bogies.

Even though Hermione kept her guard up the whole time, Luna turned out to be a nice addition to their group. She had something to say about every topic they brought up. Her answers were a bit odd, but Harry liked the stories she told. About her father, the Quibbler, and the creatures they searched for.

Of course, they had to part ways once the train arrived at Hogsmead Station. First years needed to take the boats after all. While the trio had to board coaches pulled by weird, winged, skeleton horses. The moment Harry sat down, Hermione unloaded all her frustration into the open air.

"I cannot believe that girl!" Disco Panic reflected her user's agitated emotional state. "She didn't give me one straight answer that entire time. Always changing the topic or mentioning some make-believe creature. Why did you let her stay again?"

"Should you really be picking on someone because they're strange, Hermione? Really?" She froze up for a second, then gave him the mother of all glares. Harry didn't care, a point needed to be made and he made it. "Besides, I liked her. She's got a unique personality and I think that fits our ragtag gang quite well. What'd you think, Neville?"

Neville looked between his two friends anxiously. Then, he sighed and decided to be honest. "I thought she was really strange and. . . intense. Even if some of them sound imaginary, Luna knows as much about magical creatures as I do about Herbology. I wouldn't mind seeing her around more often."

Harry smirked, "Yeah, so would I. Plus, I'd hate to be on her bad side."

With that, Hermione rejoined the conversation, "What do you mean?"

"Did either of you figure out her Stand ability?"

"I saw what she did to your drink and the candy. What, is her ability to control snack food?"

Harry sighed and made his Stand flick Hermione's forehead. "Stop being stubborn, Hermione, and think. She wasn't controlling the contents but refilling the container instead. Does that make things a bit clearer?"

Hermione frowned, her brows furrowing in thought. Then, the metaphorical light bulb clicked on, "Oh! Oh god. . ."

Neville looked even more confused than before, "I'm sorry. I'm still feeling a bit lost."

"If I guessed it right, Luna's Yellow Submarine works like this. Human blood is made up of several components all mixed together. One of those components is iron, metal. If Luna can take the smallest bit of something and then fill the container with it then, well. . ."

The growing look of dread on Neville's face showed his understanding. He turned to Hermione, "Maybe you should apologize to her."

Harry laughed, "I doubt she'll do anything, I can promise you that much. Her little show back there was a warning, 'I won't hurt you if you don't hurt me.' A Galleon says she did the same thing to Draco before she came to us."

Neither of them had much to say about that. Though, Hermione spent the rest of the trip rethinking her choices.

When they got to Hogwarts, as they disembarked, Harry looked over the carriage's front. "Wonder if Luna knows what these things are called."

Hermione followed his line of sight and frowned. "Harry, there's nothing there."

"Of course there is. Can you not see the scary skeleton horses with wings pulling the carriage?"

Neville looked over as well, "Nope."

"Huh, strange. . ." Harry decided to drop it for now. "We should get inside before the feast starts."

Harry groaned when they entered the Great Hall. As he realized one of the figures sitting at the teacher's table was Lockhart. Harry promised himself that he'd make Lockhart's life hell this school year.

Harry scours the room for Draco. The blond Slytherin hadn't stopped by their compartment once the whole trip. When he spotted Draco at the Slytherin table, his mouth goes dry.  
Something about Draco didn't look quite right. He looked skittish and jittery. He hid it well, but Harry knew a mask when he saw one. It reminded Harry of himself, all those years ago. . .

As the night went on, Lockhart introduced himself as the new DADA professor. McGonagall sorted the first years and Luna went into Ravenclaw. While the Gryffindors got a photographer and the youngest Weasley sibling.

Harry's worried thoughts melted away in Gryffindor. Despite the chaos that Hogwarts presented, Harry felt at home there.

That night, in the great hall, Harry sat among friends. While the boy with carrying a legacy on his shoulders tried not to shatter. While the girl who dreams starts her life anew. While the boy with a fire in his heart resolves to squash out evil. While the girl who comes from many feels alone.

They were all connected by something, a diary, to be exact. A diary that will spell trouble for months to come. Harry doesn't know it yet, but his troubles have only just begun.

****

**-OK-**

**Stand Name: Yellow Submarine**

**Stand User: Luna Lovegood**

**Namesake: Yellow Submarine by The Beatles**

**Destructive Power: D**

**Speed: C**

**Range: A**

**Durability: A**

**Precision: D**

**Developmental Potential: D**

**Refill: Yellow Submarine's Stand Ability allows it to refill any sort of container. The exceptions to this rule are that for it to fill a container with something. That same something needs to be already inside the container. Different sized containers require different amounts of energy.**

**Also Known As: POP goes the human!**

**Also Known As: The music video for Yellow Submarine is how I imagine Luna's mind works.**


	18. Lockhart Fighters

Harry didn't get angry often. Without violating his two cardinal rules, of course. But, besides that, he wasn't the type to hold grudges. Except when the Dursleys are involved. Even the people he stole from were nothing more than temporary annoyances.

But, Gilderoy Lockhart really pushed his buttons.

All that talk of grand adventures was complete and total bullshit. Harry could see a liar from a thousand meters away- something he learned from old friends- and Lockhart couldn't tell the truth with a gun pointed at his junk.

That didn't even mention how pompous Lockhart acted. Their first test in DADA was nothing more than a quiz about Lockhart's favorite foods and colors. Harry can understand loving your appearance, but Gilderoy took it one too many steps too far.

And now there's this shitshow. . .

Lockhart walked around the classroom, flashing his award-winning smile. While a cage, draped in a velvet curtain, rattled like it had a mini-tornado inside it.

"Today, class, we shall be interacting with one of the most dangerous creatures known to Wizarding Kind. . ." Lockhart whipped the curtain off to reveal dozens of tiny, blue, flying imps.

"Cornish Pixies?" Seamus Finnigan asked. From his tone of voice, Harry could wager a guess that these pixies weren't that dangerous.

"Laugh if you will, Mister Finnigan," their Professor prattled on. "Cornish Pixies can be devilishly tricky little blighters. Let's see what you make of them now!”

“Please, for the love of God, tell me he’s not going to-“ Harry’s prayer went unanswered as Lockhart unlocked the cage and released the pixies onto the class.

The chaos in the DADA classroom went beyond insane. The Cornish Pixies buzzed around the room, causing all kinds of mayhem and mischief. They tugged on hair, ripped pages out of textbooks, and tried to hang Neville from the chandelier.

Thankfully, Fall Out Boy packed a wicked punch and could use its rocket as a bat.

More than a few tried snatching Harry’s hat. Suffice to say, they wouldn’t be trying that again any time soon.

Harry couldn’t help but notice one other person who was holding their own, Ron Weasley. The redhead dipped and dived, ducked and dodged. It didn’t look like Ron got hit once.

Meanwhile, Lockhart. . . Well, there was an attempt.

“ _Peskipiski Pesternomi_!”

Absolutely nothing happened and Harry believed divine intervention is what made those pixies steal Lockhart’s wand. Watching him flee into his office made Harry’s day.

Of course, he felt a little bad for Hermione. Seeing as she saw all of it go down from the front row. Harry watched her respect for the man crumble into dust. Add in the pixies pulling at her bushy mane and she looked about done with everything.

Hermione’s eyes narrowed and bits of her hair started floating. The purple glow of her Stand enveloped her, “ **[Disco Panic]**!”

Twin softball pitches rocketed across the room. Clearing the area of pixies in a matter of seconds and the best part was, none of them were dead. Hermione managed to bounce some of the ricochets off her Stand’s palms to weaken the impact.

Dozens of pixies crashed to the ground in tiny blue heaps. Disco Panic’s spheres slammed into her palms with an oh-so-satisfying smack.

Once the commotion died down, Lockhart poked his gelled head outside.

He flashed his award-winning smile at his confused and beaten students, “Wonderful! All according to my lesson plan. Dealing with problems using your own wits and abilities is the mark of a true witch and/or wizard!”

Lockhart dismissed them soon after and Hermione was the first one out the door.

The trio walked the halls in silence. Harry and Neville knew better than to talk to Hermione when she’d already reached her boiling point. All they could do was wait until she exploded.

Which happened halfway to their next class for the day.

“I can not believe I trusted that man!” Hermione’s gaze cut into the air like razor-sharp daggers. “Peskipiski Pesternomi, are you bloody kidding me!? That’s not even Latin! Let alone a proper spell!”

Brave- read: stupid- man that he is, Harry said, “Told you he was a liar.”

Ah, the return of Hermione’s murder glare. . . With a vengeance! Hermione refocused said glare onto the air in front of her. “I’m going over those books with a fine-tooth comb, first chance I get. They must be complete fiction and I’m going to prove it!”

Harry grinned, “Oh, I’ll definitely help you with that.”

Meanwhile, Neville looked happy to be on their collective good side. Being their enemy would be a world beyond hell.

Later that night, Hermione would be reading Lockhart’s books with laser-focus. Taking notes on every contradiction she could find. Neville decided to work on his schoolwork ahead of time.

Which left Harry to his own devices and a devious plan in mind. He made Smooth Criminal summon his invisibility cloak as he walked towards the exit.

Turning back to his friends, Harry said, “I think I’m gonna go for a nice, moonlit walk around the castle.”

With Hermione too absorbed in her reading, which left Neville to be the responsible one. “Isn’t curfew in a few minutes for second years though?”

“I should be back by then.” Harry grinned, “Besides, do you really expect me to get caught?”

Neville thought about it for a moment, “Guess not.”

Harry snorted as he walked out the portrait hole. Waving goodbye as he slipped on the cloak and into the night.

His bodiless voice echoed across the hall, “Now, where does that prick sleep at night?”

It didn’t take long for him to remember that most teachers sleep in a room connected to their offices. Which meant his destination was the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

Harry walked in like a ghost, opening and closing the door without a sound. Harry thanked the founders for the stone floors of Hogwarts. Wood floors make sneaking around so much harder.

The young Stand-User could see lights leaking from Lockhart’s open door. Harry had hoped to find him asleep, but awake was fine. It would just take a bit more time.

He slipped into the room, where he found the poncy git going over fanmail. Harry waited under his cloak as Lockhart went over letter after letter. He didn’t stop until every single fan letter had been answered.

“Ah, all in a night’s work,” Gilderoy leaned back in his chair and smiled. “I should get some rest. Merlin knows that I need to stay golden for my adoring public.”

Harry almost blew his cover when a portrait to his right started talking. In Lockhart’s voice no less, “Quite right, my good man, quite right!”

“Some of those Seventh-Year girls are pretty easy on the eyes, aren’t they?” Lockhart and his painting laughed while Harry’s eyes narrowed. “I’m sure a lot of them would kill to spend some time with a great wizard like me. And, if worse comes to worst, then I can always use some charm practice.”

Harry found himself wondering what charms had to do with any of this. But, he was going to find out. Things just got a lot more serious than a little prank.

Lockhart started to change into his ghastly-looking pajama robes. Harry didn’t need to watch him change, thank the gods. Once Lockhart slipped into bed, Harry didn’t move until he heard the snores.

With that, Harry searched through the entire office. He didn’t find much, besides an abnormal amount of fan letters and a disturbing amount of risqué pictures from those same fans.

Harry tried to think like Lockhart. People like him were always so confident in their abilities to the point where it would be their undoing. A lot of times they’ll keep a record of the things they do. Especially, braggarts like Lockhart. 

Now, Harry thought, Lockhart’s not the brightest bulb. So that means those records should be pretty easy to find. If I were him, where would I hide it?  
The answer he came to was, ‘hidden, but also close by’. Which meant that X marks the spot in Lockhart’s own bedroom.

Harry thanked Lockhart’s stupidity for replacing the door to his bedroom with a purple curtain. Because of that, he could slip in without a sound.

When he saw the interior of the room, words spilled out of his mouth too fast for him to stop. “Oh, you have got to be bloody kidding me. . .”

First off, Lockhart slept in a very ornate canopy bed decorated in an array of colors too bright for the human eye. Then, there were the satin sheets, silk sleeping mask, and silk pajamas. But, the cherry on top of the cake would be the gigantic portrait of Lockhart hanging above the bed frame.

Both Lockhart and the portrait slept like rocks, so Harry’s slip of the tongue didn’t matter.

He decided to drop the whole portrait thing and just do his job. He looked through drawer after drawer but didn’t find anything important. Hair products, clothes, fan mail, hair products, lotion, hair products, etc.

No records of any sort just yet, but that only leaves. . .

“You have got to be kidding me.” Harry made Smooth Criminal lift the giant painting by a few inches. And lo and behold, a journal laid stuck to the back. “For god’s sake, have some originality.”

A quick dispelling charm made the journal fall into Harry’s hands. From beneath the cloak, Harry clicked on a torch and started reading.

Harry hadn’t even finished the first page before finding something. That something pushed Harry from annoyance to full-blown anger.

“,” Harry’s growl summoned his Stand. From there, Smooth Criminal punched Lockhart in the stomach. Waking the professor up in a panic.

“Wha- What, in Merlin’s name, is going on!?” Lockhart looked around the room frantically. He didn’t even realize his face mask was still on until later.

“You’re quite the writer, aren’t you, Mister Lockhart?” Smooth Criminal handed him a voice changer to make his voice seem deeper. “But, I think your most interesting story is your autobiography.”

“Is that what this is all about?” I can get you an autograph, dozens of autographs!”

“Christ, you’re pathetic. I’m not talking about that mess of scrap paper sitting in Flourish and Blotts. No, I’m talking about this!” Harry made Smooth Criminal dangle the journal in front of Lockhart’s face.

Lockhart’s face turned an impressive shade of white (Nearly-Headless Nick would be proud). He tried lunging for it, but Smooth Criminal smack him in the face. Not a punch, but a smack.

“Not so fast, Professor. This is a real page-turner and I’ve only just begun.”

Lockhart scrambled for his wand on the bedside table. Harry rolled his eyes and stole it with his Stand.

“Let’s see, graduated at the bottom of your class as a Ravenclaw. Now, that had to sting a bit. After that, you bounced from job to job as nothing more than a pretty face. Including a brief stint as a stripper, kudos for that didn’t think you had the flexibility for that.”

“Why, thank you, I-“

“Ah ah ah, shut up,” Smooth Criminal pressed a finger to Lockhart’s mouth. “Now then, where was I? Ah yes, deeming your life a failure, you decided to travel the world. Where you discovered a world much bigger than your own, full of wondrous stories. And that-!”

Harry made Smooth Criminal poke Lockhart in the chest, scaring him further. “Is when you got the absolutely brilliant idea to steal all those stories and take the credit for yourself. Stealing their memories to achieve fame, glory, and riches. Which is where I draw the line.”

“What,” Lockhart attempted to swallow his fear. “What do you mean?”

“I am a thief by trade, Mister Lockhart. I steal things from people on a daily basis-“

“Then, we’re the same! We’re both thieves, just different kinds! There’s honor amongst thieves, isn’t there?” Lockhart let out a nervous laugh, trying to win his mysterious assailant over. Unfortunately, he said all the wrong things.

Smooth Criminal grabbed him by the collar of his robes and lifted him into the air.

“We are not the same, you arrogant prick!” Harry felt tempted to rip off his cloak and stare Lockhart down personally. But, he had enough self-control to realize that it wouldn’t work out so well. “When I steal something, it can come back over time. Money, objects, it’s all replaceable! But, you. You leave your victims missing a vital part of who they are! And they might never get it back. So, never and I mean, never say that we are the same.”

Lockhart recoiled from the pure rage in Harry’s voice, “What are you going to do to me?”

Harry laughed, “Well, I’m definitely taking this with me. But, first, I think I’ll take away the one thing you love most. **[Smooth Criminal]**!”

“Smooth what-?”

“ **TORU**! **TOR-RURURURURURURURURURU** , **TOR-RUUUUU**!”

Punch after punch decimated the Hogwarts professor. Patches of hair and numerous teeth, each punch stole them from Lockhart. By the end of Smooth Criminal’s punch rush, no one could recognize Lockhart. Not even Lockhart himself.

“What. . . Did you do. . . To meeeee?” Trying to talk without teeth was a challenge, but Harry could make out enough to understand.

“Why, I’ve stolen the things you love most, Mister Lockhart. Your winning smile and that ridiculous hair of yours. And, as for this-“ Harry waved the journal in front of Lockhart’s bloody face. “I’m going to keep it. See, with some time and a whole lot of magic, you can recover from this. But, this journal, with this I can destroy you. So, I’m going to keep it and watch you struggle from afar.”

The look on his face made it all worth it, in Harry’s eyes. He tossed Gilderoy his wand and left the room, “So long, Mister Lockhart. . .”

Harry regarded the journal in his hands with more than a little hesitation. Should he keep it or give it to Hermione?

Before he could come to a decision, something echoed across the hall and slithered into his ears.

“Rip and tear. . .”

Harry whipped his head around, “What?”

“Die. . . Die. . . Die. . .”

Smooth Criminal appeared in a flash of green. “If you want a fight, jackhole, then my dance card is wide open.”

“Kill for me. . .”

The voice went off right next to Harry’s head. Smooth Criminal’s fist flew through the air, fast as sound, but it only hit the stone wall. Nothing more.

The voice went silent, but Harry stood there for another few minutes. He left once he heard the telltale sound of Filch’s hobbling footsteps.

But, Harry wasn’t going to forget that voice anytime soon. Whatever it was. . .


	19. The Clash

"You really have no idea what that voice was?"

"No, Hermione, I've said it a thousand times," Harry said. The trio was making their way to the great hall for breakfast. Harry was talking about the voice while avoiding talking about Lockhart. "It sounded so familiar, but I can't place it."

"Regardless, tell us next time you hear and we'll help you find it," Neville said. "Could it be some kind of Stand ability that messes with your hearing?"

Hermione's head tilted to the side a fraction of an inch. "Can a Stand like that exist?"

Harry snorted, "Wouldn't surprise me. The Old Man told me some Stands can do everything from stopping time to invading your brain."

"Did you just say stop time-!?"

Harry didn't have time to respond as they entered the Great Hall. The gossip was bustling even more so than usual. Harry could barely hear himself think amidst all the noise.

"What do you think happened?" Neville asked as they sat down at the Gryffindor Table.

Dean leaned over, "Lockhart isn't at the staff table. No one's seen him at all this morning and he never misses the chance for people to see him. We're all trying to guess what happened to him."

"Thanks, Dean."

He nodded and turned back to his conversation with Seamus. Meanwhile, Hermione tried to blow Lockhart's chair up with her mind. . . Though, given how Disco Panic started to manifest, that may not be too crazy.

The whole hall quieted as Dumbledore stepped up to address the school.

"Attention, students, I am sure you are all aware of Professor Lockhart's absence. He has informed me that he suddenly came down with an illness and is seeking treatment elsewhere."

That sent the gossip machine into overdrive. Some said Lockhart got a student pregnant and decided to bolt. Others thought a rabid fan kidnapped him and was holding him captive in a cabin in the woods. A few of them even said they thought someone attacked him. . .

"Of course, you can't go without a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. So, you will be given a substitute. . . That substitute will be me."

The Great Hall broke out in an uproar. People experienced every emotion from A to Z. Hermione started shaking in her seat while she tried to keep from freaking out.

"Well. . . This is going to be interesting," Harry looked over and saw Neville staring at him, "What?"

Neville leaned over, "I know you had something to do with Lockhart, Harry. I trust you, so I know you probably did it for a good reason, but are you going to tell Hermione?"

Harry sighed and looked over at Hermione. "I don't want to, but I really should. . . First chance I get I'll tell her."

Neville nodded and started piling eggs onto his plate. Harry sighed again and mentally prepared himself for Hermione's reaction. . . He could feel the shadow of death over himself already.

****

**-OK-**

Harry didn't as many chances as he thought he would. He knew her reaction would be explosive, to say the least. Which meant a secluded location would be best. . . Plus, Harry was stalling big time.

Before any of them knew it, it was time for Dumbledore's DADA class. Dumbledore stood at the head of the class, watching the students file in, smiling all the while.

When the last person sat down, he started, "Hello, students! Forgive me if I seem a bit off, it's been a while since I last taught a classroom. I am a very old man, after all."

That brought out a giggle from a few in the class. "Since I won't be teaching this class for very long, I thought we'd adlib our lesson plan a little. How does that sound?"

The whole class roared with approval. After the travesty of education that Lockhart brought. Well, they were all very excited to see something different.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, "I'll take that as a yes. . . Now, I believe I'll start with a lecture on the dangers of Soul Magic."

The entire class went dead quiet with those two words. The headmaster's eyes continued to shine as he strolled around the classroom.

"The human soul is a powerful thing. While all living beings have souls, the human soul is most powerful. Because of this power, any magic done with the human soul is just as powerful. But, at the same time, incredibly dangerous."

Hermione's quill raced across the parchment, taking notes at hyper speed. While Harry never let his eyes leave the headmaster.

"You've all heard of the Three Unforgivable Curses, yes?" No one uttered a sound, but there was a class-wide nod. "Their power draws from the fact that they don't target the body, but the soul itself."

The current topic was making a lot of people uncomfortable, none more than Neville. But, Dumbledore continued to speak and roam the room, like a wraith in the London fog.

"Another facet to Soul Magic is one that even I didn't know of until just recently." Surprised looks dotted the room. The Great Albus Dumbledore not knowing something? Unthinkable. "It involves a ritual that would remove a piece of the user's soul. Then, crafting it, into a. . . Guardian, of sorts."

More than a few people in the room felt Death's hand grip at their heart, but none more than Harry. Dumbledore's gaze remained locked onto him the entire time.

"I'm sure that these abilities are quite useful, even to the point of justifying their means. But, the manipulation of the human soul is an unforgivable act and one that should never be played with." Harry didn't back down from those twinkling eyes, not for a moment.

After that, the headmaster's lesson plan took a full one-eighty. As he taught them about simple spells that could help them, more tricks than actual tools. He never mentioned Soul Magic again, acted like he'd never mentioned it in the first place. The instant Dumbledore let them all go, Hermione bolted out of the room. She looked terrified and anyone could see it.

Harry and Neville ran after her. The last time they left her alone, she got attacked by a troll. They weren't going to take that chance again.

They chased her to a random, abandoned classroom on the seventh floor. They were all breathing hard. Even Harry who had the most experience in running for his life.

Hermione managed to speak first, "Did you. . . Did you know?"

"Know. . . What?" Harry wheezed out.

"Know about how dangerous this is!?" Hermione's body glowed and her Stand flickered. "You heard Dumbledore, this is Dark Magic!"

"Technically, he just said it was dangerous." Neither of them addressed Neville's comment.

"Stands aren't Soul Magic," Harry said. "It's your fighting spirit and determination given physical form!"

"What does that even mean!?"

"I. . . I don't know," Harry's eyes shifted around the room. He started fiddling with the brim of his hat. "But, I've had Smooth Criminal for years. Nothing bad has happened to me because of him. . . If anything, it's the opposite."

Neither Neville nor Hermione could prepare themselves for that. They've never seen Harry as anything other than confident and self-assured.

That part of him vanished in a flash. Harry tipped his hat over one eye, resembling the Stand that hovered over his shoulder. "Besides, if it was some kind of dark magic, wouldn't there be some kind of ritual? Something we'd have to do or something we'd have to give up?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed as she flexed her hands, "Maybe we didn't, but what about you, Harry?"

"What?"

"You're always talking about how Stands unlock through determination and 'Fighting Spirit', but what about you? What's your grand feat that unlocked your Stand? How did you get Smooth Criminal!?"

"I'm not answering that," Harry said through clenched teeth.

"That's not an option right now!" Hermione's blood was set to boil. Her respect for authority figures and their lessons clashing with her love for her friends. 

Harry looked her dead in the eye and said, "You'd have to beat it out of me."

Hermione matched his look and Disco Panic appeared behind her. "That can be arranged."

"Hermione!" Neville shouted, standing between the two. "This is going a bit too far, don't you think?"

"No, if she wants to do this then let her." Harry pushed Neville out of the way as his Stand prepared to fight. "Come on, you want something then take it!"

" **[Disco Panic]**!" Hermione screamed as her Stand threw it's Panic Spheres.

She didn't expect Smooth Criminal to catch both of them. Or for them to disappear in a flash of green light.

"I've been watching you develop your Stand's abilities since day one. You're useless if you don't get some momentum going first. Wonder what that says about you?"

Harry turned around and started walking away. While Hermione felt like she just got punched in the gut. Each step Harry took rang like a gong in her ears. Of course, that wasn't the only thing going on between her ears.

Voices. Voices from her childhood, from Hogwarts, and everything in between. Questioning her abilities, her intelligence, and her worth as a person. Her breath came out in short gasps as the voices echoed louder and louder.

"Shut up!" Hermione's shout echoed across the hall. "I am worth something and you can't take that away from me!"

Harry turned around as Disco Panic pitched her arm forward.

Even Hermione looked surprised when a Panic Sphere shot out and slammed Harry in the chest. He got knocked back hard as the sphere returned to DP's palm.

Neville rushed to Harry's aid, while Hermione just stared. Stared at the brand new set of Panic Spheres sitting in her Stand's hands.

After he caught his breath, Harry growled and moved Neville out of the way again. Smooth Criminal reappeared and threw a punch, striking Disco Panic square in the face. He stole her Panic Spheres, but new ones replaced them.

She didn't throw them again. Instead, Disco Panic used them like a mace and slammed into Smooth Criminal's gut. Harry hunched over, losing some of his lunch in the process.  
Hermione stood above him and said, "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. Don't count me out just yet!"

Smooth Criminal blocked her next punch, using his forearm to push her wrist out of the way. Then, he threw a punch of his own. It connected and, at the same moment, Hermione's buck teeth disappeared.

Now blood was seeping from both of their mouths. Add in the murderous glares they were shooting each other and it got worse.

Hermione took a few steps back and then threw her Panic Spheres. Disco Panic backflipped over Hermione and threw two more spheres from the bottom of her feet as well.

Four Panic Spheres, all bouncing and ricocheting off the walls. Growing stronger and faster with each hit. Harry narrowed his eyes and his Stand shot forward. " **[Smooth Criminal]**!"

" **TOR-RuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRuRu**! **TOR-RUUUUUUU**!"

Smooth Criminal deflected dozens of hits. His fists flew like bolts of lightning. But, it still took him longer than usual to steal the Panic Spheres. There would be a millisecond of contact before they disappeared. But, Smooth Criminal still won in the end.

Harry and Hermione squared off, one last time. Their battle cries echoed around the classroom as they prepared to clash again-

" **[Fall Out Boy]**!"

Before it could happen, an explosion occurred between the two of them. Dozens of vine reached out and latched on to User and Stand alike. Wrapping tighter the more they struggled.

Hermione and Harry turned to Neville. He looked about as pissed as he did when he unlocked his Stand for the first time.

"Both of you need to knock it the fuck off! Friends don't act like this!"

"She's the one who-!"

"I just wanted some-!"

"Shut the fuck up!" This time, they listened to Neville. "Hermione, I know you're scared, but Harry has had our backs since the beginning. Have some faith in him. And Harry, you shouldn't have escalated things. I know you don't like to talk about your past, but this was the wrong way to go about it."

They looked away in shame, accepting Neville's points and trying to get a hold of themselves.

"Now, are the two of you going to behave?"

They grimaced but gave him a silent nod. Neville called his Stand back, forcing the Devil's Snare to die off and release them. All three of them stood across from each other in a circle in total silence.

"Harry, I'm. . . I'm sorry. Neville's right, I should have trusted you more."

"It's fine, probably shouldn't have pushed you. . . Here's your teeth back, by the way." Harry made Smooth Criminal toss the missing teeth to her. Then, he paused, sighed, and threw her a leather journal.

"What is this?"

"Lockhart's journal, I stole it from his office. Give it a read and you'll understand why I had to beat him to a bloody pulp."

Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but then she closed it. If Harry did something, then he had a good reason to. She just needed to have a little faith.

She nodded and said, "I'll read it as soon as possible."

Harry looked at Hermione's shining face, blood staining her mouth, and sighed again. "I got my Stand about five years ago-"

"No, you don't have to-"

"At this point, I have to. . . And I want to. I should trust you guys more." Five breaths; in, out, repeat. "My uncle tried to kill me after a bout of accidental magic. If it weren't for Smooth Criminal, I would have died."

Neville and Hermione stood stock-still, trying to comprehend what they heard. Harry couldn't blame them, even he had problems processing it at times.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk until dinner. I'll talk to you guys later," and then he walked away. With his hat tipped down and his hands in his pockets.


	20. Blood, Ghosts, and Messages

The trio didn't have the most comfortable relationship over those next few weeks.

Dumbledore never mentioned Soul Magic again and acted as he'd never said it in the first place. They later found out that Harry's class was the only one that got that particular lesson.

Lockhart came back a week or two before Halloween. After reading his diary, Hermione agreed with Harry's decision. She even wished she'd gotten a few hits in with Disco Panic. Regardless, things stayed awkward between them for a long while. But, thanks to Neville, the two of them kept talking to each other like friends.

Of course, everything changed once the ghost nation attacked. . . Okay, so attacked would be a stretch. More like they invited Harry to a party, he brought Neville and Hermione, and things went downhill from there.

"How do you even know Sir Nicholas well enough for him to invite you to his deathday party?" Hermione asked as she tried suppressing her memories from the past hour. Memories of rotten food and floating dead people.

"I try to get in everyone's good graces, Hermione," Harry replied. "Bad thieves are the shifty ones that make you suspicious. You show somebody a smiling face and they're less likely to notice you're stealing their wallet. . . Most of the time anyway."

"Couldn't you have politely declined the invitation?"

"I was curious, sue me. Seeing what a Deathday Party would be like sounded like fun." Harry cringed a little, "I'll admit, it was pretty awful, but I've sated my curiosity."

Neville piped up, "Wasn't that bad, was it?"

"I threw up in my mouth several times." Hermione held a hand to her mouth as memories forced their way to the surface. "Especially when some of them showed off how they died. It was horrid! Not to mention the smell. . ."

"I couldn't really tell. You find worse stuff in the greenhouses." Neville shrugged, while Hermione made a mental note to never visit the greenhouses. "Anyway, I think what you did for Sir Nicholas was really nice."

Harry grinned, "A lot of that was just me sating my curiosity again, but I'm glad it worked out so well."

Halfway through Nick's party, a bunch of jackholes called The Headless Hunt crashed it. They started mocking Nicholas for his botched decapitation. The rest of the room found it hilarious, but not Nicholas. Gryffindor's house ghost looked red in the face, despite his pale complexion.

Because of that, Harry summoned Smooth Criminal and had a little fun. He stole every head out of the Headless Hunt's hands and started juggling.

The chaos that ensured brought the whole room to tears. They watched the Headless Hunt scramble for their missing heads for the rest of the party. It helped Harry figure out if ghosts could see Stands. They couldn't.

Harry's performance ended the party on a high note. Which is what led to the trio's current state of post-party euphoria. That is. . . Until it happened again.

"Blood. . . Blood!"

Harry spun around, summoning Smooth Criminal, as he looked around wildly. It startled Hermione and Neville because of how sudden it was.

"Harry, what's going on?"

"It's back-!"

"Give me blood!"

Smooth Criminal punched the wall so hard it cracked the stone. Harry growled, "The bloody voice is back!"

Fall Out Boy and Disco Panic appeared in an instant. Neville and Hermione stood next to Harry, all three of them back to back.

Neville's eyes shifted around, "Which way? I can have FOB scout it for us."

"It's-"

"Gallons of the stuff!"

"That way!" Harry pointed and Neville sent his Stand out like a bullet. Or a rocket, as it were.

Fall Out Boy disappeared through a wall, while the trio ran after it. Neville led the charge, his face screwed up in concentration. Harry told them weeks ago that they could see what their Stands see if they wanted to. Which is exactly what Neville was taking advantage of.

"Neville, what's happening?"

"I- I don't know! FOB sees something, but it's not a Stand and it's moving too fast for him to get a clear picture!"

"Never enough, never enough blood!"

Harry groaned, "I don't know what it's doing, but we need to hurry. This thing sounds hungry and I don't want to find out how much."

They turned another corner and came to an abrupt halt. All they could see was the blood-soaked message in front of them: The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir. . . Beware.

"I think we're too late, Harry," Hermione said.

"Neville, what about-?"

"I lost focus once we saw. . . That. It got away, I'm sorry, Harry. . ."

Harry groaned and rubbed at his eyes, "No, it's alright. We all got distracted. What does this even me- Wait, is that?"

"I think it is," Hermione's eyes got wide as dinner plates as she stared up.

They hadn't noticed during all the commotion, but something hung next to the bloody letters. That something turned out to be the frozen-stiff body of Mrs. Norris.

"Is she. . . ?"

Smooth Criminal floated up and checked her pulse, Harry shook his head, "She's alive. She's just. . . Not moving, for some reason."

"Stand attack?"

"I. . . don't know, maybe. For some reason, I want to say that this isn't Stand-related this time." Harry's face scrunched up, he couldn't stand not knowing what was going on.

None of them had time to dwell on it. The feast ended while they were talking, which meant students were flooding the halls. They surrounded the trio and stared at the message, along with the cat. The whispers started flying once they saw Harry in the middle of it.

And then Mister Filch showed up.

"Move out of the way, what's going on?" The crowd split and Argus saw Harry hiding his face with his hat. "Potter, what are you-?"

Then, his eyes trailed up and locked-on to his frozen cat. "You. . . You killed my cat."

"I didn't do it," Harry growled.

Filch didn't seem to care, "I'll kill you. I'll kill you!"

"Argus, that's enough!"

Harry groaned, "And now this is happening, fan-friggin-tastic."

The Headmaster, along with every single teacher, parted the crowd. They took in the message with shocked faces, except for Dumbledore. The Headmaster was quick to address   
the gathered masses. "Students, return to your dormitories. . . Except for you three."

Harry wanted to keep walking and act like he didn't hear. But, Hermione yanked him by the collar, so he was fresh out of luck.

"I want him expelled!"

"I did not kill your bloody cat!"

"Mister Potter, show some respect." McGonagall's tone calmed Harry down enough for an apologetic nod.

Lockhart started spouting some bull about being able to save her. While Dumbledore observed the frozen cat, "She isn't dead, Argus. She's been petrified and that is something no second year could do."

The Headmaster stared at Harry with that annoying, little twinkle. It set Harry off, but he kept it contained.

"Maybe so, but why oh why, was Mister Potter not at the feast?" Snape asked, sneer present as always.

"We were with the ghosts, you can ask them," Neville said.

"Then why head to this particular hallway? Why not go straight to the grand hall immediately?"

"Wasn't exactly feeling hungry after an hour surrounded by rotten food," Harry said, cool as ice. "Besides, I'm not really been a fan of Halloween. Not after I found out it's the day my parents died."

Snape looked like someone punched him in the gut. After a very quick recovery, Snape bared his teeth to retaliate.

"Severus, I think that's enough," Dumbledore cut in. "I believe in their innocence."

"Headmaster, you can't be serious," Snape's beady eyes never left Harry's.

"I've made my choice, Severus," Dumbledore turned to the trio. "Return your dorms this instant."

Just this once, Harry decided to follow the Headmaster's advice. But, that didn't stop them from talking along the way.

"First off, could either of you hear the voice?" Both of them shook their heads no. "Dammit, and if Dumbledore is right, this is definitely magical. Hermione, know anything about petrification?"

"No, but I'll check the library as soon as possible," her eyes narrowed. "Along with that Chamber of Secrets thing."

"Good. Neville, "he perked up. "What did Fall Out Boy see? And what were you chasing it through?"

"He didn't see anything, but whatever it was, was going through the pipes behind the walls. It's super fast if it can outrun my Stand like that."

"Okay, fast, pipes, and it petrifies things. That's not a lot, but we can work on it. . . But, why am I the only one who hears it?" Harry held a hand to his face as he grit his teeth.

Harry felt a gentle hand on both of his shoulders. Hermione and Neville smiled at their best friend and tried to give him encouragement.

"Whatever it is, Harry, we'll have your back until the end."

"We're your accomplices, aren't we?" Neville gave an awkward smile.

Harry smirked and readjusted his hat, "Alright. Whatever this thing is, we're taking it down and nothing is going to stop us!"

****

**-OK-**

In another part of the castle, a certain first-year felt like complete and utter garbage. Young Ginny Weasley sat in some random classroom, tucked away in the corner with her feet pulled up to her chest.

At her feet laid a small, black diary.

"Tom. . . I don't think I can do this anymore. . ."

From the diary, an apparition appeared. He wore Prefect robes that hung off a slim frame. While his slick, black hair framed his face quite well.

"Now, don't say that, sweet Ginny," he said.

"I don't like not remembering, Tom!" Ginny looked up, tears in her eyes. "I can't even remember what happens when you take over! How is that supposed to get Harry to like me?"

Tom smiled, "You just need to trust me."

Ginny looked away, tucking into a tighter ball. She whimpered as the tears slid down her cheeks.

Tom reached a ghostly hand out to stroke her cheek, "Remember my promise? If you trust in me, then I can make you happy."

She looked up, "Promise?"

"Have I ever lied to you?"

"I. . . I guess not."

"Then allow me control and everything will be just fine."

". . . Fine."

Ginny reached out with a wary hand and grabbed the diary. The instant her fingers touched the cool leather, her body went slack. Like a puppet with it's strings cut.

"I'm sorry, my dear Ginevra," her mouth moved, but it wasn't her voice. Slowly, Ginny's body rose, "I intend to keep my promise. But, not in the way you expect me to."

When Ginny opened her eyes, they were cold and blank; no emotion. For a split second, they flashed, red and slit like a snake's. They were the eyes of a tyrant.

"My desires must come before yours, Ginny."

Ginny's body exploded with red energy as a ghostly-figure appeared behind her. "And what I desire is the head of Harry Potter!"

The ghostly-figure swiped its hands and Ginny disappeared in a blur of movement. Leaving the classroom empty as it was before.


	21. Boy II Stone

To say that Harry absolutely despised to the past few weeks, would be a severe understatement.

Hermione's research on petrification didn't bring up anything. The only thing they found was a cockatrice, but Neville said Fall Out Boy didn't hear any talons or clucking. She tried looking into the Chamber of Secrets as well. But, it only earned their class a lecture from Professor McGonagall.

Then, there was the amount of attention Harry received from the entire school. Whenever he walked into a room, the whispers would start festering. Harry tried to stay between well-liked and unnoticed with almost everyone he met. This whole ordeal with Misses Norris was ruining that.

On top of everything, Harry still didn't know why only he could hear the attacker's voice. The answer laid on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't remember it at all.

And when Harry tried doing some research of his own. Someone tried to crush him under a bunch of bookshelves. He got out of it without a scratch, thanks to Smooth Criminal, but he got banned from the library.

The whole thing drove Harry mad. Not to mention his little fanboy, Collin Creevy. He kept asking questions and taking pictures. Two things Harry couldn't stand. The first being answering questions about his past. The second, leaving behind physical evidence of his presence.

"Another day, another Quidditch match," Harry said.

Neville had dragged the two of them to the Gryffindor versus Slytherin game. He thought Harry and Hermione needed a change of pace. Plus, a little house pride never hurt anybody. . . much.

He poked Harry's arm, "Cheer up, Harry. Little relaxation will do you, and Hermione, some good."

"Not very relaxing, to be honest. The seekers on both teams royally suck," Harry mentioned. One hand to prop up his head as he scanned the field. "The snitch has passed both of them, several times."

"You can see it?" Hermione asked.

"You're asking me if I can see a tiny speck of gold in the middle of a sea of chaos? Yes. Yes, I can."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "How did I know that was the answer I'd get?"

"Hey, don't hate the player, hate the game."

"I hate both," she shot back.

". . . That's fair."

"Oi, watch out!"

Smooth Criminal appeared to smash an incoming bludger away from Harry. He groaned, "Looks like the beaters aren't very good either. That better have been Slytherin's fault. I actually respect the twins. Come on, guys- Woah!"

His Stand smacked away the same bludger for the second time. Harry narrowed his eyes, "Starting to think this isn't the team's fault. . ."

The bloody thing kept coming back for more. More and more people were starting to panic. Madame Hooch wouldn't end the game for something so minor, which meant he had to wait for a teacher to interfere.

But, it looked like they were having trouble navigating the scrambling student body. So, Harry needed to do something about it.

Bludgers were nuts too tough to crack for Smooth Criminal. . . yet. Which meant the game would need to last with only one bludger.

" **Toru**!" The bludger flashed green for a moment and then disappeared from the field.

Everyone around stared at the empty space where the bludger used to be. Harry readjusted his hat and sighed. "I need to stop coming to these things. . ."

The bad times didn't stop there. They continued all the way to dinner in the grand hall when Dumbledore made an announcement.

"I am very sad to say that there has been another incident this afternoon." The hall went dead silent, several heads turned to Harry. "Collin Creevey was found petrified in a corridor shortly after the Gryffindor-Slytherin game. He is currently in the hospital wing with Misses Norris."

Harry felt like an arrow pierced his chest. Ice filled his veins as the whispers in the hall grew ten-fold.

"Professor Sprout and Professor Snape are working towards a cure, but it will take some time." For once, Dumbledore's calming tone didn't help anyone. "Regardless, Mister Creevy will be up and about in no time."

A moment later, Dumbledore dismissed them back to their dorms. Harry followed the crowd until he could leave without anyone noticing.

Hermione knew Harry well enough to know what he was doing. She signaled Neville what was happening. He mentioned checking on something and broke off in a different direction. After that, Hermione followed Harry, not too close, but not far enough to lose him.

The two of them walked all the way to an abandoned classroom on the sixth floor. Harry walked in, sat a desk, then slammed his fists onto the wood.

"Dammit!" Harry's anguish echoed off the walls. "I missed it, I freaking missed it!"

"Harry, you couldn't have done anything," Hermione argued.

Harry made a frustrated noise in his throat and started pacing around the room. She sat there, in silence, as Harry paced. Her hands clenched into fists on her lap, so tight they almost bled.

"I could've saved the little brat," he mumbled under his breath. Collin was annoying, but he didn't deserve getting petrified.

They sat in silence for more than a few minutes. When Harry heard the door start to open, he summoned Smooth Criminal. He relaxed a little when Neville and Draco walked in.

"Looking a little tense there, Potter."

Harry slumped in his seat, "It's been a rough couple weeks, mate. . . I haven't heard much from you this year."

Draco cringed a minuscule action, but big enough that Harry noticed. "Father wasn't happy you foiled his plans at Diagon Alley. It made for a very stressful week. He used his Stand and almost killed one of our house elves."

"That's horrid, "Hermione said, aghast.

They stood in silence until Neville broke the silence by slamming a book onto a desk. He coughed as some dust flew up into his face, "So. . . I have some good news?"

Harry rubbed at his eyes, "Sorry, mate, what do you got for us?"

"Well, you remember how Dumbledore said they were working to make a cure?" They all nodded. "I did some quick research of my own and I found out that the key ingredient for petrification is Mandrake roots!"

"Those screaming plants we've been taking care of?" Draco shuddered at the memory. Hermione could only remember how Harry managed to put earmuffs on without removing his hat.

"Exactly, the mature Mandrakes can be used to create a cure for petrification. The only problem is that Mandrakes can take the better part of a year to mature." Neville grinned, "Unless. . ."

Harry returned it, "Unless you have someone who can grow plants in a matter of seconds."

"We grow the mandrakes, make the cure, and give it to the petrified. Then maybe they'll give us some clues as to who or what did this!" No one could say it better than Hermione.

"Alright, let's do this," Harry said, "Neville-"

"Way ahead of you," he held up some leaves. "I snagged these a few days ago just in case Fall Out Boy would need them. Tomorrow, we can head into the forest and plant them."

"I'll help you out," Harry nodded. "Hermione, will you be doing more research?"

Hermione just stared at him. Stared into his very soul.

"Right, stupid question." Harry turned to Draco, "Can you ask the paintings to keep a look-out?"

"I suppose so. By the way, Longbottom?" Neville looked up, "To get away from my 'friends' in Slytherin, I mentioned I was going to bully you on my own. So, if you see green robes, try to look distraught."

"Whatever you say, Draco," Neville offered him a small smile. The corner of Draco's mouth twitched upwards.

The four friends separated, walking towards their respective dorms for the night. . . Unaware of the fifth figure watching them from afar. That figure's golden glow told them they had much more to fear than just petrification.

****

**-OK-**

"Why are we here again?" Harry asked as his shoes seeped into the mud.

"The Mandrake's screams are lethal, remember? I want to find a place away from everyone else so nobody gets hurt."

"Let's get a move on then. If we're not back in time for dinner, everyone will get suspicious. Plus, my socks are getting wet and it's far from a golden experience."

The two of them walked for a long time. Eventually, they found a large clearing that Neville found sufficient.

"Did you bring the materials?"

Smooth Criminal dropped them into his hands, "Two sets of earmuffs and some shears. Hermione added some extra enchantments to the earmuffs, so we're all set."

"Perfect," Neville took the earmuffs and the sheers. Then, he reached into his robes and brought out a leather pouch. "I've got the leaves. Now, we just need to-"

"Neville, wait. . . Do you hear that?"

It took a moment, but he could. The sounds of skittering legs above their heads. Harry notices now that spider webs are decorating the treetops.

"We've got company," Smooth Criminal popped into existence. ". . . Always wanted to say that, I feel like an action star."

The spiders took that cliché line as a chance to attack. They came in all sizes, from rats to small horses.

Neville growled and got to his feet. His body glowed red as he reached for a different leather pouch, " **[Fall Out-]**!"

"Neville, don't," Harry's Stand punched a spider into nothingness. "We've got a nuke in our arsenal right now. Freaking use it!"

"A nuke?" Neville looked down at his hand and everything became clear. "Right, I'll need a minute though!"

"Take your time," Harry drew his wand as his Stand rushed forward. He only knew simple things, like the tripping jinx, but it would stall for time.

"Why the bloody hell are there so many spiders anyway?" Neville asked as he dropped the leaves in FOB's hatch. "It's bollocks, **[Fall Out Boy]**!"

"Part of me-" Harry tripped up one spider as Smooth Criminal killed another. "Part of me wants to blame Hagrid."

"Earmuffs, Harry!"

"Well, I'm sorry, but he doesn't have a good- Oh right!" Harry threw the magic earmuffs on at the last second.

It took longer than expected, but the spiders started to drop. The Mandrakes grew larger and so did their body count.

Neville could feel his teeth rattling from the vibrations. The enchantments on the earmuffs were failing. As the last spider died, Neville fulfilled his mission. He took up the sheers and trimmed as many roots as possible.

"Come back, [Fall Out Boy]!"

The screaming stopped as Fall Out Boy returned to its user. Harry and Neville dropped to the ground, exhausted beyond belief.

Harry got up first, groaning all the while. He nudged Neville, "Come on, we need to leave before more come."

Neville groaned, "Fine, just give me a bloody minute."

****

**-OK-**

They returned from the forest. Neville counted ten Mandrake roots in their possession. The potion required, at least, three, which meant they had back-ups.

Following Draco's advice, Harry went to Professor Snape with their findings. Harry didn't like that advice, but he did it anyway. Snape had to be a professor for a reason, right?

"Professor?" Harry knocked on the door to the Potions classroom.

"You may enter. . ."

Harry opened the door, he'd walked in on Snape grading papers. The Professor looked up and scowled, "Potter, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to offer my assistance," Harry said. He took a seat in front of Snape, hands folded over one another.

"What makes you think I'd need, or even want, your assistance?"

Harry reached into his robes and pulled out four Mandrake roots. He placed them on Snape's desk as the Professor went wide-eyed. "This is what you need to save Collin and the cat, yeah?"

Snape looked at the roots like they spat in his face. "How on Earth did you get these? Did you steal them, Potter?"

Harry shook his head, "No, I didn't steal them. . . For once. I just happen to know a guy."

"And you expect me to trust the sanctity of these ingredients?"

"You're the potions master, Professor, you tell me." Harry looked deep into Snape's eyes and found him lacking.

His face turned bright red, "Why you-!"

"Goodbye, Professor," Harry walked away without a second glance.

With a sigh, Harry started walking back to Gryffindor. As he passed walls upon walls of paintings, he said, "Sorry, Draco, I gave him a chance. What happens next is up to him."

Neville and Hermione were still doing research when he got back. Hermione noticed his return first, "Harry, how did it go"

"Poorly," he collapsed into a comfy chair with a huge sigh of relief. "Hermione, do you think you could pull off that Mandrake potion?"

"It's a very high-level potion that very few can do," she said. "Get me the ingredients and I can have it done before Christmas."

"Done," Harry laid back, letting the comfort of the chair overtake him.

"Mister Potter."

Harry groaned and sat up. Seeing that it was Professor McGonagall, Harry rethought his opening statement. "Why, Professor McGonagall, what a pleasure to see you here."

"Your father tried those same tactics, Mister Potter. It didn't work on me then, it won't work on me now."

"Well, drat."

McGonagall hid the smallest of smiles behind her hand. "Professor Dumbledore would like to see you in his office."

"Off to see the wizard, I guess," he stood up and turned to his friends. "Don't wait up for me."

"We won't," they said in stereo.

"Cheeky. . ."

Harry walked with Professor McGonagall, all the way to Dumbledore's office.

She said, "He's taken a liking to lemon drops," then left.

"Good to know, I guess," Harry walked up to the door. He tried the handle, but it wouldn't budge. "Lemon drops?"

The doors parted, Harry shrugged and walked forward. Harry found Dumbledore's office to be a temple of temptation. So many random pieces of junk dotting the room. Harry's Sticky Fingers were twitching and Smooth Criminal wanted some action too.

But, what caught his eye most was the red bird sitting on a golden perch.

"Well, aren't you just lovely." Harry gave it a scratch under its chin. An instant later, the bird burst into flame. "What the bloody-!?"

"Ah, Mister Potter," Dumbledore walked in soon after.

"Oh god, I'm going to get a reputation at this point. Look, Headmaster, I did not kill your bird. He just spontaneously combusted. . . Now that I say it, it doesn't sound very convincing, but-!"

Dumbledore chuckled, "Worry not, my boy. Fawkes is a Phoenix, which means he has a variety of magical abilities. Healing tears, magical songs, and the ability to be reborn from the ashes of his death."

The ash shifted around. Then, a little head of red feathers poked its way out.

Harry huffed, "Color me impressed. So, why did you want me here, Professor?"

"Professor Snape informed me that you brought him some very high-quality Potion ingredients. One's relating to the incidents we face now. I wanted to ask where you acquired such materials?"

"Like I told the Professor, I know a guy." Harry scritched the tiny bird's head. "You'll use them to cure Collin, yeah? It's the kid's first year, he shouldn't have to spend it in the hospital wing."

"Yes, of course. . . By chance, is this 'guy' that you know happen to be Neville Longbottom?"

Harry didn't react in any sort of way. Dumbledore had shown his hand when he gave them the lesson about Soul Magic. Now Harry held the cards and he wasn't going to give the game away yet.

"Harry, my boy-" Harry had to restrain himself from attacking Dumbledore. The 'My Boy' thing was cute at first, but now it hit way too close to home. "I'm worried that you don't know what you're doing with these abilities. Soul magic is dangerous magic, dark magic. Whatever spell or ritual you performed, I'm sure it can be reversed."

"No spells, no rituals," Harry said. Fawkes preened under the attention Harry showered him with.

The headmaster looked surprised, yet unconvinced, "Then how?"

"Determination, fighting spirit, and a traumatic event. One that makes you think, with all your heart, that you're about to die."

"And you've experienced all of those things before coming to Hogwarts?"

Harry turned around, eyes full of fury. He glared into Dumbledore's twinkling irises, "Yes. I have."

The tension in the room grew to uncomfortable levels, yet neither would back down. Harry could feel Smooth Criminal trying to escape. Wanting to bring justice to his user. Harry sighed and broke away.

He could get away with a lot of things. Beating up the headmaster wasn't one of them. . . probably.

"Is that all you needed, Professor?"

Dumbledore appeared retrospective. It took a moment, but mumbled an answer, "Yes, you may go now."

"Goodbye, Professor," Harry tipped his hat low and walked out the door. It just proved his point. He couldn't trust someone whose first instinct was to lecture you.

None of that mattered anyhow. He had his friends and they had a plan. The four of them would end this Chamber of Secrets nonsense or die trying.

And Harry didn't feel like dying anytime soon.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed and I will see you all next time, OK is out!


End file.
